A decision is due to be made on the future of Radstock’s Health, Library and Children’s Centre services at Bath’s Guildhall on Wednesday, 23rd August. Councillors on the Development Management Committee are set to vote upon the planning application for a Healthy Living Centre, which will include a new Doctor’s Surgery, Pharmacy, Community Kitchen, Children’s Centre and Library. If Councillors vote down the plans, which have been recommended to permit by the B&NES Officer, then there is a real danger that these services could be lost to the town.

Hope House Surgery is currently housed within a Grade II listed building and cannot expand to meet the changing needs of the community, which has grown significantly since the Linden Homes development began as part of the regeneration plan. With the Children’s Centre and Library under threat due to B&NES budget cuts and ageing buildings, the plan was designed to bring all of the services together under one roof, reliant on £3.6m of NHS funding, which will be lost, should the building not be complete by early 2019. Hope House have said that should plans fail, they will most likely need to move out of the town altogether. The existing Children’s Centre and Library sites would be sold to provide a capital receipt to part fund the cost of the Council’s part of the new building. The officer’s report notes that the current patient list of 6,535 is predicted to increase to at least 8,705, which means the Doctor’s Surgery can no longer do nothing. Radstock Children’s Centre is also one of four main hubs within B&NES, so is of great importance to the community, too.

The plans have met fierce opposition from some on Radstock Town Council and residents of Waterloo Road, Pine Court and beyond; mainly due to the loss of green space and parking problems in the area. The Surgery says it undertook a detailed study which ruled out several sites within the town and left it with only one viable option – Waterloo Road.

In summing up her report, the B&NES Planning Officer notes that: ‘Whilst it is clearly regrettable that the green space will be lost to facilitate this development, it is considered that the benefits of the scheme outweigh the harm. The provision of these critical services in one hub is considered to provide significant benefits to a growing population.’

The potential loss of the green space in the plans has resulted in a conflict with B&NES’ own Development Plan, which has meant the application needed to be re-advertised and the consultation period extended, which campaigners say runs past the meeting date on the 23rd.

The report also notes the officers’ opinions that the new development would not have a severe impact on the local highway network, but did express concern over the potential shortfall in parking provision, which could be between three and thirteen spaces between the peak times of 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. It also noted that Waterloo Road car park was regularly at capacity between 9 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. Discussions have taken place with the potential to create three new spaces within the existing Council car park, which would need to be secured by legal agreement.

Despite criticisms over its appearance in the plans, the officer noted the high quality of the building proposed, ‘which responds positively in most regards to the character and appearance of the Radstock Conservation Area.’

The application has received 51 objection comments, 41 supporting comments and was objected to by Radstock Town Council and Ward Councillor, Chris Dando, due to the design of the building.

Protesters also gathered on Monday morning when B&NES Councillors and planning officers carried out a site visit to the green space at Waterloo Road.

The decision will be made at the meeting held in the Brunswick Room of the Guildhall, Bath, on Wednesday, 23rd August at 2 p.m., with the application the first due to be heard. Following this will be a decision on the Bidwell Metals application for 28 new houses on the scrapyard site at Clandown, which the officer has also delegated to permit.