Planning-row health centre ‘in wrong place’ says town’s mayor

D-DAY is approaching for a decision on controversial plans to build a health centre and housing in an East Riding market town.

Residents who live on a “quiet and narrow” cul-de-sac which will be the access to the development say there could be as many as 200 vehicle movements an hour as users drive to the centre, which will house a pharmacy and outpatient clinics. It will be built beside 49 homes, as part of the scheme by Lovel Developments.

Market Weighton Surgery has been seeking a new home for eight years and doctors claim it is “the one and probably only opportunity to secure the provision of a new health centre”.

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Rumours have been circulating that the new facilities includes a specialist drug and addiction centre, but the surgery denies this is the case. Officials say the pharmacy will dispense methadone, in the same way that many High Street chemists do.

Councillors are due to discuss the scheme on Thursday, with the recommendation to defer and then delegate approval to an officer.

Market Weighton town council recommends refusal and says the road which will access the scheme, Northgate Vale, is prohibited on the local development plan for anything other than access by emergency vehicles. It cites a serving police officer saying that the road is too narrow for more traffic and would pose a danger to young children.

The town’s civic society says the current surgery is in the best site, being centrally located and taking it out of the centre will damage the town’s historic core. In all 149 people have written to object and 90 other signed an online e-petition. However, more than 560 people signed pro forma letters of support.

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Mayor Peter Hemmerman said: “The general feeling is that it’s in the wrong place – it is going to take away from the town centre. There are other sites that are available.”

However, highways officers are not objecting, subject to amendments, including improvements to the Holme Road/A1079 junction.