'Milestone' for long-awaited health centre

Plans for a long-awaited health centre to cope with the demand on GP surgeries have been approved.

An updated application for the Great Western Park Health Centre, which was submitted in February, has been given the go ahead.

Residents began to move over to the Didcot GP surgery more than 12 years ago, but the health facilities promised in the original proposals have not yet been built.

Vale of White Horse District Council, the planning authority for the site, released a statement explaining the approval was "an important milestone" for the centre.

Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) previously said it was looking forward to the "project progressing as quickly as possible for the benefit for residents."

The new facility in Great Western Park would be run as a branch surgery to Woodlands Medical Centre, which has appointed Assura as its developer.

The care board and Taylor Wimpey have been "working closely" with Woodlands and Assura, alongside the district council.

The authority's statement said: "The application set out the details of the health centre and how it will meet the needs of the local area."

The updated application addressed concerns raised by the council with the original, the council said.

It also included updated design information, included plans for landscaping, parking and sustainability measures.

The plans were approved at a council meeting on Wednesday 2 April and the authority added that all parties involved were "now working together to progress the next steps".

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