Oxfordshire GP surgery plan approved after 'forced' closure

The Carterton branch of Bampton Medical Practice closed earlier this year as it was unable to renew its lease for clinical space at the health centre, which it rented from the Burford Surgery.

This left its patients needing to travel four miles to the Bampton Medical Practice main site, or to register at the Burford Surgery if they wanted to continue receiving care in Carterton in a situation planning documents described as "critical".

At the time, it said: "Bampton Medical Practice is not closing its Carterton branch by choice.

"The lease on the Carterton Health Centre is not being renewed by the building's owner, Burford Surgery, due to their plans to expand services.

"We are working closely with the ICB, local authorities, and community partners to secure an alternative site in Carterton."

Carterton Health Centre (Image: Google Street View)

The surgery had a presence in the town for over 20 years and has 8,920 registered patients across Bampton, Carterton and surrounding areas.

Burford Surgery said "growing demand" and an increased patient list were why it needed to expand and was unable to continue to lease spaces on its site to Bampton Surgery.

Now, an alternative location for a branch has been found, and a planning application for alterations to the building has received the green light.

On Tuesday, August 25, West Oxfordshire District Council approved external alterations "to facilitate a new healthcare surgery with pharmacy, dispensary and treatment rooms" at .

The site is currently a "large pharmacy," and plans said its conversion will create a "new community surgery in the heart" of the town - 300m from the health centre.

The proposal listed reasons for the plans as including: "addressing the recent closure of Bampton Medical Practice part of Carterton Health Centre", "re-establishing the critical loss of 3-4 clinical rooms in Carterton", and "addressing imminent patient services shortage".

A planning statement said the pharmacy building has "sufficient space to accommodate a new surgery, with the building naturally being split along the centre line, with the pharmacy continuing to occupy space on the left and the new surgery occupying space on the right".

It added: "The proposed new surgery will be 218sqm and has a patient friendly layout with clinical rooms arranged in a single row along the main corridor, serviced with the waiting area and reception at the front, and clean and dirty utility spaces to the rear. Further staff facilities are located at the back of the building."

Recommending the approval of the proposal, a West Oxfordshire planning officer said: "The development would help ensure the continuation of local services within Carterton while having minimal impact on the surrounding area."