Frustration over ‘medical’ sites

A councillor has expressed his frustration that Holbeach could lose a second plot of land identified to expand medical care in the town.

As reported in last week’s edition of The Voice, the NHS is selling land on Dam Gate for £90,000 that had been given to it for a new medical centre for the town.

And Coun Nick Worth said the town’s Holbeach Medical Centre and Littlebury Medical Centre had also so far passed on the option of taking on the site of the former council depot on Fleet Street which has been offered to both.

Concerns have been expressed on the capacity of healthcare in the town, particularly with the number of homes with planning permission in the town set to be built over the next few years.

The NHS told The Voice that in March 2019, the South Lincolnshire Care Commissioning Group had deemed the Dam Gate site “surplus for clinical use”.

And Coun Worth says that the businesses that run both of Holbeach’s medical centres had told him in previous meetings they didn’t need to move to the old depot site.

He said: “It’s frustrating. As a council we’ve been trying to do what we can.

“We’ve met with the businesses behind the medical centres and they’ve so far turned down the depot site.

“That’s their business decision and I understand that.

“We’ve not decided on anything just yet, but it’s not going to be available much longer. It’s been vacant for a number of years and we did have discussions about it being both a medical surgery and base for the police as well.

“I think it would be perfect for a medical centre with the bus stop right outside and easy parking.

“The two medical centres have said they can cope with the demand and the CCG have said they can cope.

“But you wonder what’s going to happen in the next ten to 15 years when there’s hundreds more homes in the town and between 6,000 to 10,000 more people.”

The Voice contacted both Holbeach and Littlebury Medical Centre for a comment but neither had responded at the time of going to press.

The 1.58 acre Dam Gate site remains up for sale and is described as auctioneer Allsopp’s as having “possible potential for residential developments”.