PLANS to replace four GP surgeries in Bicester with a new 'super-surgery' have been submitted to Cherwell District Council.

The proposed 3,350sqm building in Graven Hill has been called Bicester Health and Wellbeing Hub.

Under the scheme, Langford Medical Practice and Victoria House Surgery – both run by Alchester Medical Group – will move into the new site with Montgomery House Surgery and Ambrosden Surgery. Each one will work individually from the same site.

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Along with a pharmacy, it will provide primary care and serve 50,000 patients in the Bicester area with room to expand.

The three-storey hub will have 69 patient rooms, a new highway access road, 223 spaces for car parking, an ambulance bay, a service bay and a mobile medical unit bay.

Sue Wilde, chairman of the Patient Participation Group at Alchester Medical Group, welcomes the application and hopes the council's planning committee gives it the green light.

She said: "The size of the population in Bicester and the surrounding areas that the current surgeries serve is huge. There are lots of patients and we need the extra spaces that the hub is going to provide.

"Sixty-nine patient rooms shared between two surgeries is wonderful. It looks like it will be a very good development and it will allow people to access services without having to travel to Oxford hospitals."

The hub is designed for flexible use, with a large proportion of shared space enabling a possible later merger between the practices.

It will meet all statutory and infection-control requirements, allowing the practices to offer more services to local patients and support Oxford Clinical Commissioning Group in moving more patient care from secondary care into the community.

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The hub will also provide more GP and nurse training, allowing it to become a Teaching & Training Centre of Excellence.

In the past, there was controversy about which area of the town the 'super-surgery' should be built in, with some people wanting it in the north of the town in Kingsmere, and others preferring the south.

Graven Hill was announced as the 'preferred option' by Alchester Medical Group GP Dr Toby Quartley in September 2019 who said Graven Hill would cope better with traffic than Kingsmere.

Ms Wilde added: "There were so many conversations about what's going to happen and where the site is going to be, but the feeling that we have got, certainly from the town, is that people just want it to go ahead.

"They’re building more houses around Bicester and on Graven Hill there is so much redevelopment ongoing. People will be able to cycle, walk and drive to it which is important as everyone needs to be able to get there.

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"Most people want it and Graven Hill is the best site for it - it’s time to get moving."

Conservative Cherwell District councillor Dan Sames said: "Changes to GP provision within the town will be worrying for many people and I’m sure many like me, would have wished for the current arrangements to remain unchanged.

"This proposed facility should increase the range of services available to people in Bicester and the surrounding villages. However, we must ensure that the access to the new facility is the best that it can be to allow people to attend appointments."

The hub will also feature three different 'therapy garden' spaces including; a tranquil area, a sensory

area and a courtyard space within the centre of the building.

A Zoom meeting for patients and the public to see and hear more about the plans, and to share views, will be held on Thursday, May 27 at 7.30pm. To register go to eventbrite.co.uk.

To view the full planning application, go to the Cherwell District Council planning portal and search '21/01454/F'.

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