New healthy living centre for GP surgery and library
Bringing Radstock’s doctors’ surgery and library together will ensure the future of both services. They will be joined by a pharmacy, a community kitchen and the town’s children’s centre in a “state-of-the-art” healthy living centre that has just been given the go-ahead. The site in Waterloo Road is currently green space but supporters said it was better to lose that than Radstock’s GPS, who suffer a “chronic” lack of space. There were 42 letters backing the planning application and 66 against it. Objectors criticised the lack of parking, the impact on the future of other public buildings, and the excessive number of functions in one building. The plans, from Hope House Surgery, say bringing the services together is necessary to secure £3.6million in NHS funding. There are currently 6,535 patients on its books and that number is set to increase as the population grows, so more space is needed. Assessing the application, Bath and North East Somerset Council planning officers said: “The relocation of Hope House Surgery to a purpose-built facility will provide an opportunity to improve patient services and address the inadequacies of the current accommodation and respond to the growing population in the locality. “The existing Hope House Surgery is housed within a Grade II listed building and is no longer fit for purpose and can not expand to meet the changing needs. “At present, a number of services are at risk due to the lack of space in the current building. “The submission explains that if this project does not go ahead, the NHS funding is likely to be lost - the building must be complete by early 2019 to meet requirements - and it is likely that the doctor’s practice will have to move out of Radstock as the current building cannot meet the needs of a growing population with complex health needs.” The move secures a sustainable future for Radstock Library, which will be able to extend its opening hours in a shared space. The plans say Radstock is one of the four main hubs for children’s services in Bath and North East Somerset so it needs space to deliver services to children, young people and their families. The existing Church Street children’s centre and the library in The Street will be sold off to help fund B&NES Council’s share of the new building. There is also a community kitchen funded by some of the £1million Big Local award to Radstock and Westfield. The plans proposed 25 parking spaces but this was less than the authority requires so officers proposed upping the number by three to reduce the impact on surrounding streets. Radstock Town Council objected to the development because it was out of keeping with the area but B&NES Council officers judged that it was a high quality building and any harm to the conservation area was “less than substantial”. Recommending approval, they said: “The provision of these critical services in one hub is considered to provide significant benefits to a growing population. There is a significant concern that if these facilities do not come forward then they will be lost from Radstock. “Whilst it is clearly regrettable that the green space will be lost to facilitate this development, and there is limited landscaping setting to the development, it is considered that the benefits of the scheme outweigh the harm.” The application was approved.