Surgery developers bid to remedy residents' concerns

BLUEPRINTS to replace an outdated doctor’s surgery with a new two-storey development have been revised after concerns were raised over the scale of the scheme.

The Woodthorpe surgery has been running for the last quarter of a century in a converted home in York, although the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) deemed the building fails to provide adequate facilities.

A planning application went before York Council last month but councillors opted to defer a decision to allow York Medical Group’s partners to address the concerns of nearby residents.

A revised application has now been drawn up which includes plans for a lower roof to prevent the building overshadowing a neighbouring property. Concerns over car parking have also been addressed, with the medical group agreeing to direct patients to a nearby public car park rather than leaving their vehicles outside the surgery.

The PCT surveyed the building in 2008 and said it was “at risk of imminent breakdown” after analysing its location, physical condition, capacity for development and energy bills.

The application which will go before the council’s west and city centre area planning sub-committee next Thursday, outlines proposals to demolish the building in Moorcroft Road and replace it with the new two-storey surgery.

The proposals have been recommended for approval by the council’s planning officers.

The report carried out by the PCT in 2008 deemed that the current surgery was a D rating, which is below the acceptable B ranking.

Nearby residents have claimed that the scale of the development would not fit into the character of the area and would also lead to a loss of privacy.

However, council officers maintain that the proposed scheme would not have “any detrimental impact” on the neighbourhood.