A NEW NHS dental practice has opened in Westbury following confusion in the town when original plans were halted just days before it was due to open.
Westbury Downs Dental Care, managed by South Cliff Dental Care, was due to open on 1st July, operating from the former NatWest building in the town centre. But plans fell through at the last minute.
Locals were left in the dark about how to access NHS dental care in the town as White Horse Health Centre, which had lost the NHS contract to the new provider, closed their NHS dental service on Wednesday 26th June.
However, days later, South Cliff Dental Care announced that it had found new premises on the High Street, at the former home of Kevin’s Menswear. And while renovation work is being completed, a state-of-the-art mobile unit will be used, located in the town centre car park.
The practice, which opened last week, is expected to move into its permanent home in early September.
Speaking to White Horse News, chief executive officer for South Cliff Dental Care, Ashkan Pitchforth said, “It’s good news, even though we were refused the site at NatWest, we are relocating to Kevin’s Menswear – which is still on the High Street. The move does set us back by about two months, so we are looking to open the new premises on 2nd September. In the interim, we will have a state-of-the-art mobile dental unit positioned in the car park behind Kevin’s Menswear – the mobile unit will have one fully-kitted out dental unit with a fully functional dental chair and separate decontamination unit.
“This is an exciting project and we look forward to creating a wonderful practice in the heart of Westbury for many patients to benefit from for years to come.”
Speaking about the delay in opening the dental practice, Ashkan said, “We were delayed for about a week, which in the grand scheme of things, considering what we were up against, is quite an achievement.
“We were all ready to move into the premises. Whilst in negotiations for the lease, we applied for planning permission, was successful, and had the builders waiting for the landlord to give the thumbs up – we had a refurbishment budget of £200,000 ready for things like new flooring and ceilings.
“NatWest, who have the lease with the superior landlord, were very happy and enthusiastic about us taking over – the lease was almost fully agreed, it just needed the landlord to say they were happy. But they said no.
“This was all done ‘on risk’ – normally you would approach the opening of a new business by finding the premises, agreeing the lease, applying for planning permission and then commencing with building works – but that could take four months. So we did things the other way round to speed things up – in Marlborough, we won the tender in February and we were up and running in May – we could have easily done the same thing in Westbury.
“The landlord has an ongoing lease with NatWest, they have to pay him rent whether the building is empty or not – so it makes no difference to the landlord if the building is occupied.
“We are fully committed to providing a high level of dental care in Westbury.”
Services are open to patients Monday-Saturday 9am – 5pm with a late evening on a Tuesday until 8pm. Patients are able to call the dedicated practice number to book an appointment by calling 01373 762727.
