A bid by a local GP surgery in Olney for cash to submit a planning application to expand their surgery has been refused by local NHS bosses, because they have not been given the funding by the Conservative government to build the new facilities.
NHS chiefs have written to Cobbs Garden GP Surgery in Olney to refuse permission to access funding to submit a planning application to expand the practice, despite the fact the surgery has had to close its list to new patients.
Labour-led Milton Keynes City Council has offered to provide land for the scheme and supports the use of S106 funding to build the new facility. However, the local ICB, which controls local NHS funding, has revealed it does not have the capital available to expand the surgery after the whole of the ICB area, covering Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire and Luton, was allocated under £2m to improve NHS facilities.
Milton Keynes City Council has offered to support the surgery in progressing a planning permission and will seek to release funding to the GP surgery to advance their plans, as well as continuing to push for funding to build the new facility the community needs.
Cllr Peter Marland, Leader of Milton Keynes City Council said:
“Yet again Olney has been let down by the Conservatives. A Labour-led city council has offered funding and land to support the expansion to create much needed extra GP capacity in the town, but the surgery has been refused permission to even access funding to submit a planning application because the government haven’t provided the local ICB with anywhere near the level of funding required for health infrastructure in the fastest growing region in the country.”
Cllr Debbie Whitworth, MK City Councillor for Olney ward said:
“The news that another bid to move the expansion of Cobbs Garden GP Surgery forward has been rejected is a Conservative kick in the teeth for Olney. Local residents are fed up that the local GP surgery is full and they can’t get an appointment. It’s a double Conservative hit on the town because the recent housing built in the area was due to the Conservative government allowing it permissions on appeal because the last Conservative local plan was so defective. I’ll keep fighting to get the GP surgery extended.”
Cllr Marland concluded:
“MK City Council has offered land, support and funding to put right the mess of piecemeal Conservative housing development. After almost 20 years of a Conservative MP and having solely Conservative councillors until last year, the people of Olney will surely be asking where is the infrastructure they’ve been promised for almost two decades, have they had enough of empty Tory promises and is it time for a change?”