A county councillor for Didcot has pledged to maintain his efforts until groundwork commences for a new medical practice.
With the original developer having left the project, a replacement developer has now been appointed for the repeatedly delayed GP surgery at Great Western Park.
Ian Snowdon, who serves Didcot West on the county council, has welcomed this news but acknowledged that numerous prior efforts have come to nothing. He has vowed to keep pressing for the surgery to open as quickly as possible.
He said that nothing should be celebrated until the first patient steps through the door.
Local people have faced broken commitments for too long, and he will keep working until he witnesses construction getting underway.
Great Western Park, comprising 3,300 homes, is expected to be finished this year. The scheme received initial planning consent in 2008, which incorporated provisions for a new GP surgery.
The planning permission for the medical facility was granted roughly ten years ago, yet the scheme has suffered repeated delays.
When Assura, the previous developer, pulled out last year, Mr Snowdon launched a petition calling for immediate action, which quickly accumulated over 2,000 signatures via an online platform.
He noted that obtaining a replacement developer is a step forward, though certain legal steps still need to be completed.
Woodlands Medical Centre has appointed London-based Apsley Henley Med Ltd as the new developer for this long-awaited project.
The appointment follows work by the former NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board to find an alternative developer.
This situation arose after Assura’s plans to build the surgery were deemed financially unworkable.
Olly Glover, the MP for Didcot and Wantage, has repeatedly sought information about the delayed scheme.
In October, he raised the issue in Parliament with Health Secretary Wes Streeting, requesting intervention to progress the plans. Following their conversation, Streeting committed to looking into the problems.
Glover pointed out that Great Western Park has added more than 3,000 homes to Didcot, while Valley Park currently under construction will deliver over 4,000 additional properties.
Yet the GP surgery promised in 2008 remains an empty site.
Although planning permission was granted and Woodlands Surgery committed to running the new facility, with the Integrated Care Board backing the scheme, progress became stuck at NHS England level, leaving local primary care services struggling with increasing demand for appointments.
Glover said that Great Western Park residents have faced an unacceptable wait for the medical practice that was promised years ago.
However, this announcement represents a significant step in the right direction. With a newly appointed developer, this should provide the impetus needed to get the project started.
His constituents are entitled to primary care that keeps pace with housing development, and he will continue pressing the ICB to ensure this project finally becomes a reality.
Mr Snowdon’s petition calls for a binding timetable and delivery guarantee from the ICB, along with urgent temporary measures to address GP capacity such as mobile clinical facilities, extra staff, or more appointment slots.
Developer contributions of around £791,000 were secured for the new surgery in 2016.