The partners of Phoenix Health Group are deeply disappointed by the decision of the Cotswold District Council Planning Committee on the 14th of June 2023 to reject the application for a new health centre. We feel the committee did not give sufficient weight to the importance for the people of Tetbury and the surrounding villages of securing a modern, high quality health centre, large enough to meet the needs of the expanding population and ever increasing health needs of our community.
Over the last 6 years the practice has worked very hard to identify potential sites and projects and this is the only one of the nineteen sites found that has met the financial constraints set by the NHS on behalf of the tax payer and been able to be taken to the planning stage. We would like to reiterate that any land within the town boundary of Tetbury is competing with residential prices and has therefore been too expensive to pass the NHS business case. Any greenfield land around Tetbury would also be located in the AONB, something that the Planning Committee failed to consider when reaching their conclusion. We are grateful to our current landlords for their patience whilst we try to find a solution to ensure we can continue providing this essential service in Tetbury.
We are working with Stonewood Homes, who worked hard to reach planning committee with a recommendation from Cotswold District Council’s Planning Officer to approve the scheme, to consider options moving forward. We are grateful for the support we have had from our local population and the town council in particular and hope that we can work together to try to find a suitable home for the practice.