GP practices serving Oldland Common will need to be expanded if plans to build up to 310 more homes are given the go-ahead.
That’s the view of local health chiefs in response to the application to South Gloucestershire Council from developer Waddeton Park for a 176.9 hectare site east of Barry Road and High Street.
The Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board says the developer would need to contribute £314,992 towards expansion and renovation at local surgeries.
It says the practices at Hanham Health’s Oldland Surgery and Close Farm Surgery are already overstretched for the existing population, while there seems little chance of a hoped-for new surgery at the Chief Trading Post development.
The ICB’s response to the plans will come as little surprise to local people, many of whom have expressed concerns that the existing infrastructure, particularly health services and transport, is not adequate for further housing development.
More than 500 people submitted objections to the planned development, which would involve moving the Green Belt boundary, before the council’s deadline for comments.
It is not yet known when the council’s planning committee will consider the outline scheme, which the developer says would provide much needed housing and affordable housing.
The site is included in the council’s draft Local Plan, which is being created to identify suitable places for development to meet the district’s housing needs up to 2041.
The Government has said that some parts of the Green Belt will have to be sacrificed as part of its drive to build many more homes across the country.
The council is expected to submit the Local Plan in the autumn for independent examination by a planning inspector.
The Waddeton Park plan can be found on the council planning website with the reference P25/01362/O