The site at Dam Gate put up for sale by the NHS last September.

NHS worry over more town homes

There are concerns over healthcare provision in Holbeach after the NHS raised issues over the number of new houses being built in the town.

It has requested a sizeable donation from a planning application submitted for 185 homes off Battlefields Lane in the town.

Outline planning permission has been granted for the site on several previous occasions but are no longer valid.

Now Cicero Estates is looking for an up-to-date permission for the site.

The NHS is requesting a contribution of £122,100 and representation states:

“This development would put additional demands on the existing GP services for the area and additional infrastructure would be required to meet the increased demands.

“Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (LCCG) wishes for the Section 106 contribution from the development of 185 dwellings on land off Battlefields Lane South, Holbeach, to contribute to a new purpose-built health centre/primary care centre or extension to existing facility in Holbeach.

“Collaborative work is currently underway on the estates strategy for the Holbeach area as part of the Primary Care Network.”

The call for new facilities comes less than six months after the NHS put up for sale a parcel of land on Dam Gate in the town which had been donated by a developer for a new health facility.

Concerns were expressed at the time that the decision was shortsighted given the number of homes, thought to be around 2,000 over 20 years, proposed through the South Lincolnshire Local Plan.

When asked about the land sale by The Voice last September a spokesman for the NHS Property Services said: “The Dam Gate site in Holbeach was declared surplus for clinical use by South Lincolnshire CCG in March 2019.”

Holbeach Parish Council discussed the issue at its meeting on Monday.
Coun Eddie McNally told the meeting he didn’t think there had been as much of a response to a planning application in a long time.

“With all the developments coming through, it’s overkill at the minute.

“The NHS response is quite damning.

“It’s saying we’re now going past capacity and need doctors’ surgeries.

“I think it’s going to be very worrying.

“We’re not going to be able to get a doctors’ appointment, you’re not going to be able to get your kids in local schools.”

The Voice asked both the Lincolnshire Care Commissioning Group and the NHS Property Services group for a comment, but had not received one at the time of going to press.

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