Health bosses say a proposed additional care housing facility will place ‘additional demands’ on the town’s GP surgeries.
Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board is expecting plans to build a 70 unit extra care housing unit on the Castle Sports Complex Swimming Pool site in Spalding to bring in more than 177 additional patients and is asking for £27,527.50 to help meet this demand.
South Holland District Council has submitted an outline planning application for the Pinchbeck Road site, which the authority’s planning committee has been recommended to approve along with plans for the £26million re-development of the Albion Street side of the leisure centre. The council is not expected to develop the housing itself.
The Castle Sports Complex swimming pool in Spalding could be demolished to make way for a care home
ICB comments in a report to Wednesday’s planning committee meeting states: “This development would put additional demands on existing GP services for the area and additional infrastructure would be required to meet the increased demands.
“Lincolnshire ICB wishes for section 106 contribution from the development of up to 70 bed extra care facility on the Castle Sports Complex to contribute to the expansion in capacity through remodelling/changes to layout or extension to existing facilities within the Spalding Primary Care Network at Beechfield Medical Centre and/or Munro Medical Centre.
“Alternatively the funding may, where appropriate, be used to support expansion in capacity at an alternative general practice site as required to meet the population need.”
But if the application is granted planning permission, the authority cannot make a section 106 requirement for the health contributions with itself so will have to use a ‘Grampian condition’ which would prevent development until the agreement is made.
The council’s conservation officer is stated in the report saying that proposal could have an ‘impact’ on the setting of the Spalding Conservation Area (SCA) as the site is adjacent to that.
The planning report goes onto state: “Regarding the demolition aspect, it is considered that the demolition of the swimming pool could be considered to be an enhancement to the setting, providing that provisions are put in place to ensure that the site would not remain undeveloped or vacant following demolition.
“As a matter of principle, the conservation officer does not object ‘to the premise of a (up to) four storey development on this site. Although it would be technically more visible from public portions of the SCA than the existing, taller buildings are not alien, to this region of the SCA and depending on the final details of the reserved matters stage, the resulting building could be designed to be a positive contributor.’”
The council received four letters from the public on the application which express concerns over the impact on the rear of 19 Albion Street and calls for cycling infrastructure.
A total of 42 car parking spaces are being proposed as part of the development, which a travel assessment has found will not have a ‘adverse impact’ on the roads.
The report states: “The principle of development is, on balance, therefore considered acceptable.”