Surgery plans move a step closer
Plans for a replacement doctor’s surgery in the heart of Winchester have moved a step closer as Winchester City Council’s Cabinet has approved plans to relocate St Clements Surgery to new premises at Upper Brook Street Car Park.
The move has been a long standing ambition for the Council and comes after planning consent was granted last year. The new surgery will allow the practice to deliver higher standards of healthcare for residents and will secure an improved use of land within in the Council’s ownership, part of the organisation’s strategic plan to make more of its existing assets for the benefit of local people.
Kathy Bracher, Business Manager for the St Clements Partnership said,
St Clements’ GPs and staff are very excited about the prospect of having modern facilities in which our patients can be seen and our staff work. We appreciate the hard work it has taken for everyone at Winchester City Council and West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group to reach this point and hope that final details can be agreed to make this scheme a reality.
Cllr Lisa Griffiths Portfolio Holder for Health & Wellbeing, said:
The current St Clements Practice is a vital provider of primary healthcare in Winchester city centre, serving 17,000 patients who live within five miles of the surgery. However, the 1970s surgery building has started to show its age, and with housing developments adding to the population of Winchester in the next ten years, there is a real need for additional health care facilities in the city. This is fantastic news for Winchester and means that residents can have state-of-the-art health facilities on their doorstep – it shows that we as a Council are future-focussed, listening to what residents want and need in the city.
Cllr Caroline Horrill, Leader of Winchester City Council added:
I am delighted that the development appraisal for this replacement surgery that will deliver the highest standard of healthcare for Winchester residents has been approved. It’s a key aim in our Council Strategy to work with partners to improve the health of our residents and this will be achieved by making use of land that we own – an entrepreneurial approach to asset management that will benefit tens of thousands of people.
A revised valuation has confirmed that the scheme is still financially viable. Architecture PLB have been retained as the architects who will develop the design of the new surgery up to RIBA Stage 4 to facilitate the tendering of the construction work .It is expected that the construction and occupation of the new surgery will be completed by Summer 2019.