Plans for Stansted’s new health centre to be submitted today
THOUSANDS of Stansted residents are set to benefit from a much-needed new health centre after developers promised to submit plans today (Thursday).
The Reporter was told by Bill Bampton, director of Pelham Structures, the firm working with NHS West Essex primary care trust to deliver the project, that the application was now ready to be sent to planning authority Uttlesford District Council.
“We believe we have come up with the best possible solution to deliver a health care centre Stansted residents will be proud of and will be submitting the plans today,” he said.
After numerous setbacks since discussions for the development began more than a decade ago, it appears the four-storey complex could go to the decision stage in the coming months.
It is due to be built at the former Castle Lotus and TVR garage at the bottom of Lower Street and will include outpatient services which are currently inaccessible to residents without a trip to Herts and Essex Community Hospital.
Plans for the surgery, drawn up by Pelham and NHS West Essex after public consultation, will see flats, shops and a pharmacy housed alongside it.
A planning application was to be submitted earlier this month but a last-minute hitch meant minor changes had to be made.
Most Read
- 1 Met Office weather: Yellow storm and flood warning for East of England
- 2 Obituary: On-call firefighter dedicated life to community
- 3 4 inspirational women are celebrated in Newport
- 4 New Mayors and deputies in Saffron Walden and Great Dunmow
- 5 Voting together: Lib Dems and Greens join forces
- 6 Saffron Walden seal first win of EAPL season at Frinton
- 7 Home county tenant exodus drives up London rents
- 8 SWCC girls U13 come close to victory
- 9 Pictures: Hundreds take part in Saffron Walden Jubilee walk
- 10 The Railway Arms is North West Essex CAMRA Pub of the Year
And, in August, concerns raised by the highways authority at Essex County Council over access to the site and possible congestion on nearby Chapel Hill also led to delays.
The site was moved to the former Lotus garage after protests from residents about plans to build the development on the Foresthall Park estate.
Calls for better health care provisions have been ongoing for many years, with the existing centre in St John’s Road struggling to cope with the growing number of people in Stansted.
It has forced many residents to register with practices at nearby Hatfield Broad Oak, Bishop’s Stortford, Birchanger and Elsenham.
On December 7 two representatives of NHS West Essex PCT will be updating residents on the health centre project at a parish council meeting from 7pm.
