Plans for a permanent GP surgery in the Lake District have been given the go-ahead after the practice received an eviction notice from its former premises last year.
The Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) has approved a planning application from Oakbank Surgery Ltd for a ‘permanent standalone solution’ for Haverthwaite Surgery on land at Oak Bank.
The proposed privately funded surgery, in the grounds of Oak Bank, has acted as an ‘emergency’ practice for most of the year.
The surgery, on land at Backbarrow, received an eviction notice from its landlord and a proposed 65 per cent hike in its rental lease agreement last year.
A planning application has been submitted by Dr Robert Francis Callingham to convert the site of the former surgery into three houses.
Planning documents say the proposed two-storey surgery on land at Oak Bank will be modern and environmentally friendly.
On the first floor it is proposed there will be light and spacious patient waiting areas, a reception and four consultation rooms. The first floor will provide a multi-purpose community space for uses such as health and wellbeing mindfulness/yoga classes.
The application said: “The proposed surgery will provide a public space for patients and staff, futureproof the needs of the patient population and will also create a much-needed central hub for an ever-increasing rural population.”
The Haverthwaite GP surgery has nearly 3,000 patients and offers healthcare to people in hard to reach areas of western Windermere and Coniston.
In January the Lake District National Park Authority approved plans from John and Helga Barr to offer the Oak Bank in Haverthwaite as an emergency surgery and the property has been used as such since April 2.
The applicants are now working with Haverthwaite Surgery & NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB to secure a permanent standalone solution in the grounds of Oak Bank that satisfies Care Quality Commission best practice.
A report prepared by the authority’s planning officers said: “The proposed development would ensure the continuation of an important community facility.”
