Plans for a new GP surgery and dentist in a Gloucestershire town have been given the go-ahead.
Minchinhampton Surgery has been granted permission by Stroud District Council to build the new medical centre on land north of Cirencester Road.
The new medical centre will have a total floor area of 10,613.2 square feet and is designed to cater for more than 8,000 patients over the same catchment area as the existing surgery in Minchinhampton Town Centre.
The ground floor will include 18 consulting/treatment rooms and associated facilities such as a reception/waiting area, administrative accommodation and storerooms as well as dentist accommodation.
Access to the surgery will be from Cirencester Road, about halfway along the southern boundary of the existing field.
And the surgery will have a total of 71 parking spaces and a dedicated drop off area/ambulance facility.
Ward councillor Chloe Turner (G, Minchinhampton), speaking at yesterday’s (March 29) development control committee, said it was a difficult planning application to consider.
She said she did not dispute the need for the surgery but the location of the site is highly sensitive.
Cllr Turner said: “I would have objected to it myself were it not for the efforts made towards sustainability.”
A resident who spoke against the plans said they went against local planning policies and people will have to drive to the medical centre rather than walk as they currently do.
He said it would be possible to redevelop and reuse the existing building in Bell Lane.
He said: “If development beyond the settlement boundary is allowed a precedent would be set enabling further development of the adjacent fields.
“Rather than destroy a greenfield site, surely it makes more sense to redevelop and retain the surgery in the town centre where it is equally accessible for all residents.”
Doctors from the surgery explained why they need a new surgery.
Dr Susie Weir said there had been a doctor in Minchinhampton since the establishment of the NHS.
She said the current building is now 50 years old and the number of staff and patients has risen exponentially.
She said: “We are bursting at the seams, these rooms are small and not fit for purpose. We want to provide a better environment for our patients.”
Dr Tristan Cooper said considerable thought has been put into the layout of the new medical centre so that it can be adapted to suit future health emergencies such as a pandemic.
He said: “In short, the new surgery will offer state-of-the-art facilities for patients and staff alike.”
Planning officers recommended approving the proposals. And the committee voted to do so by six votes to one.
