Exclusive by Anna Wood
Proposals for a three-storey super surgery to serve more than 14,000 people in north Shrewsbury have been unveiled, the Chronicle can reveal.
A planning application is expected to be submitted to Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council “imminently” for the development on Sundorne Road, which would provide a combined facility for the existing doctors surgeries on Albert Road and Mount Pleasant Road.
It would also house Primary Care Trust services including physiotherapists, dental facilities and visiting healthcare professionals. Plans have now gone on display in both doctors’ surgeries.
Matrix Medical, a Birmingham-based development company, has a long-standing agreement with SABC to buy the site between Shrewsbury Sports Village and the Territorial Army base, subject to planning permission.
Ashley Seymour, development manager for Matrix Medical, said: “The idea is to bring different healthcare services closer to the community. It will be a three-storey building with physiotherapists, healthcare visitors, and doctors and nurses will operate out of the building to provide healthcare services.
“We’ve gone through an early public consultation process and invited comments from residents at the sports village. It was a really positive response at the meeting, it’s very encouraging.”
But residents who live near the site have vowed to fight the proposals which they believe will cause huge disruption.
Dave Nicholls, from Sundorne Road, lives directly opposite the proposed site and said he and many of his neighbours are determined to fight the plans.
“It’s not just me who’s concerned, both my neighbours have concerns as well.
“It’s a pretty large building – about 11.4 metres high – and virtually directly opposite where we live.
“We definitely don’t want it there, there will be huge disruption.”
Andy Goldsmith, assistant manager of SABC, said the council was pleased to be in a position to ‘enable the opportunity for the development of the medical centre’.
“We think it’s got good strategic links with the sports village and will provide an invaluable asset to Shrewsbury and the north of the town,” he added.
Maureen Evans, practice manager of Albert Road doctors surgery, said she was delighted that more than 14,000 people across both practices would benefit from a new high-quality centre.