Developer for delayed surgery is “fired up to get started”

Great Western Park, a 3,300-home estate was completed in 2022, and was initially granted planning permission in 2008, with a new GP surgery included. 

The planning permission for the new surgery dates back about 10 years but there have been repeated delays.

READ MORE: Delayed GP surgery gets new developer

In April, Woodlands Medical Centre appointed London-based Apsley Henley Med Ltd as the new developer for the long-awaited project.

The AHML team has for over 30 years delivered GP surgeries around the UK from Kent to Scotland.

The appointment follows action taken by the former NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) to identify an alternative developer.

This comes after Assura’s proposal for the new surgery building was deemed unaffordable.

Nick Bastian, director at Apsley Henley Med Ltd, said: “We are looking forward to working with the GP practice, Thames Valley ICB and Vale of White Horse District Council on this exciting scheme. Our team is ready and fired up to get started.”

Partners at the Woodland Medical Centre are hopeful the project can now move forward, while recognising that several “legal hurdles” remain before construction can begin, according to Apsley Henley Med Ltd.

It added that vital next steps include: progressing the required legal agreements between all parties, and completing the land transfer to Vale of White Horse District Council.

Apsley Henley Med Ltd also pledged to continue engagement with Woodlands Medical Centre to keep the project moving and ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements.

Didcot and Wantage MP Olly Glover at Great Western Park (Image: Olly Glover)

Olly Glover, MP for Didcot and Wantage, has repeatedly pressed for updates on the delayed scheme.

In October, he raised the issue in the House of Commons with former Health Secretary Wes Streeting urging action to help unblock plans. Following this exchange, Mr Streeting promised to ‘find out what’s gone wrong’.

Mr Glover explained at the time that Great Western Park has added more than 3,000 homes to Didcot, with Valley Park under construction adding over 4,000 more. Yet the GP surgery promised in 2008 remains an empty patch of land.

Great Western Park in Didcot (Image: Oxford Mail)

Despite the council having granted planning permission, Woodlands Surgery being prepared to run the new facility, and the Integrated Care Board (ICB) supporting the case for one, progress was stalled with NHS England, leaving local primary care services struggling to cope with increasing demand for appointments.

Mr Glover said earlier: “Residents in Great Western Park have waited far too long for the GP surgery that was promised years ago.

“With a new developer now appointed, this should provide the momentum that is needed to get this project up and running.

“My constituents deserve access to primary care that keeps up with housing growth, and I will continue to press the ICB to make sure that this project finally becomes a reality.”

Didcot West county councillor Ian Snowdon earlier launched a petition calling for a binding timetable and delivery commitment from the ICB and for urgent interim GP capacity measures such as temporary clinical space, additional staff, or expanded appointment capacity.

About £791,000 in developer contributions was secured for the new surgery in 2016.