Health issue with new homes

With the mass of planning applications (reported yesterday) coming before Cheshire East's next Strategic Planning Board, and with many likely to be won on appeal because of the current planning chaos locally and elsewhere, some local campaigners are asking what plans are being made to expand medical facilities in the area.

Can Leighton Hospital and GP surgeries in the Nantwich and south Cheshire area cope or are funds to be provided for them to expand to meet the likely influx of new residents? We understand Nantwich surgeries are already very full.

At the last Cheshire East Strategic Planning Board meeting on 9th October, it was established that Audlem GP Practice's evidence that they would have to close their books to new patients if the developers' plans were approved was accepted as an infrastructure issue and was one of the grounds both applications were refused by the board.

An Audlem parish councillor wrote to Healthwatch and Cheshire East back in July to ask whether adequate consideration was being given to health provision with all the new housing in the pipeline. He has yet to receive an answer.

Last week, he followed up the query with Cheshire East councillor Janet Clowse who has cabinet responsibility for Health at the Council. She represented Audlem at 9th October meeting and will be well aware of the lack of local GP provision in the future if the two local developments go ahead.

AudlemOnline will publish the answers to this important query when they are received, hopefully from both Healthwatch and Cheshire East.

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