Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Super-surgery for Trowbridge moves a step closer.

The Wiltshire NHS plan for a new 'super-surgery' in Trowbridge was 'approved' by the western area planning committee on Wednesday evening.

As the plan involves the loss of a playing field, the application now has to go the the Secretary of State in accordance with the Town & Country Planning (playing fields) (England) Direction 1998.

The development, if permitted, will go on land adjacent to Trowbridge Hospital currently leased to Trowbridge Cricket Club.

Wiltshire NHS claims that the idea is that this will allow people to have access to the existing hospital services while the super-surgery is under construction. I'm sure the fact that they will then be left with the ex-hospital site for sale to the highest bidder (probably for yet more housing) hasn't crossed their mind - much!

Incidentally, funding for projects isn't a material consideration that members of planning committees are allowed to take into consideration, but I'm presuming that the new super-surgery will be funded either by a conglomerate of Trowbridge GPs and/or Private Finance Initiative money; Wiltshire NHS will then 'lease' the facilities. If this is correct, it means that the profit from selling the old hospital site will disappear into the NHS coffers as a short-term profit whilst the tax payer will be forking-out for the next thirty to fourty years to pay for the scheme.

The end result? Trowbridge has state-of-the-art (but similar/inferior) facilities to what it had five years ago, the cricket club loses the use of a large chunk of land, Trowbridge loses a valuable playing field and we (the tax payer) end up lining someones pocket for the 'privilege' of having maedical facilities in the county town - you couldn't make it up really, could you?