Beds doctors’ surgery and care home scheme set for approval

Plans to build a new doctors’ surgery and care home in a Bedfordshire village, which forms part of a wider urban extension, look set to take a step forward.The application for the land Bromham Road in Biddenham, on the corner of St James Way and The Great Ouse Way roundabout, was filed by Montpelier Estates Ltd.The site forms part of a wider parcel which is earmarked for an urban extension to Biddenham which once complete will comprise new homes, employment and retail space, a park and ride, and leisure and community facilities.The proposed doctors surgery would be in the form of V-shape on the northern section of the site. It has been designed in two phases; phase one comprises almost 14,000 sq ft, while phase two is available if further facilities are needed. If built, the surgery would have a gross external floor area of 16,000 sq ft.The proposed nursing home would L-shaped, three storeys in height, with 60 bedrooms. Facilities would include day rooms, a dining area and offices and would have a floorspace of 36,980 sq ft.The scheme initially went before Bedford Borough Council’s planning committee in December 2019 and was recommended for approval subject to the completion of a section 106 agreement.Since then, negotiations have taken place and the applicant has stated that in order to fund the surgery it needs contracts and a rental agreement in place with the NHS/CCG. This requires a variation to the committee’s resolution in December.The application is set to go before planners again on 21 September 2020 and is set for the green light.