Polyclinic saved

A meeting of the Rochdale Township Planning Sub-Committee ruled in favour of the continued use of a private car park on Union Street by a mobile polyclinic operated by Care UK for the NHS for a further two years. The applicants had asked for a five year extension but Councillor Andrew Neilson, seconded by Councillor Billy Sheerin, proposed the two year option as being a reasonable compromise.

A petition in favour of allowing the clinic to remain, signed by over 200 nearby businesses, had been submitted by the car park owner and around 20 people  wearing ‘Save Our Polyclinic’ tee-shirts attended the meeting - and were clearly delighted with the outcome.

Opponents of the scheme included a small number of local shopkeepers and Town Centre Management. Whilst all praised the work of the clinic, they were concerned at the loss of car-parking spaces being taken by the clinic. However, it was pointed out during the meeting that some of those originally objecting to the planning permission being extended had since changed their minds.

Paul Turner-Mitchell, proprietor of 25-Ten Boutique on Yorkshire Street told the meeting that businesses had been forced to close recently in the area, although in response to questioning, he could not categorically say that this was solely due to the lack of available parking. He added that the adjacent car-parks were often filled to maximum capacity on the days when the clinic was operating.

Agent for the applicants, Simon Richardson disputed claims that existing car parks were almost fully occupied because of the clinic, as an independent survey, requested by the Council, carried out to assess parking levels had concluded there was spare capacity.  He added that the clinic had dealt with 23,000 consultant appointments and 11,000 physiotherapy sessions. Other sites had been considered but the High Street location had proved to be the best available option. He told the committee that 60% of clinic attendees also used their visit to visit local shops and that 30% of those surveyed said that they would revisit.

www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/71091/mp-playing-politics-with-local-nhs-service

www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/71090/local-nhs-service-at-risk