Buckingham medical centre could be axed without Government support, says councillor

A Buckingham councillor is calling for Government support to help secure a new medical centre for the town.

Planning permission was granted for the centre in Lace Hill, but changes to interest rates mean the project cannot be completed without additional support.

Councillor Howard Mordue, who has been campaigning for the new facility for over a decade, said,“lives will be at risk”, if the centre is not built.

Unless work begins on the new centre this year, the project will be abandoned as the money to fund the centre will no longer be available in 2025.

Councillor Mordue is seeking help from the Treasury as the rent value set in 2021 does not take into account the five per cent rise in interest rates which now makes the financial model unviable.

He is seeking senior Government assistance as the District Valuer is refusing to change the rent terms. Property company, Montpelier, is not going forward without a change as it would not generate income from the scheme.

Councillor Mordue said: "Buckingham is a growing and thriving town. but its primary care facilities have totally failed to keep up with increasing demand. They are woefully inadequate, with no proper disabled access and are in a growing state of disrepair. We desperately need action at the highest level to give Buckingham the fit for purpose medical centre that it so badly needs. If we do not get this medical centre the opportunity may be lost forever and medical care in Buckingham will seriously deteriorate putting peoples' health at risk’. The medical centre is alive but in intensive care."

Local MP Greg Smith, and the nearby Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes South, Iain Stewart, have backed the campaign.

Mr Smith added: "I have raised this multiple times with the primary care minister, Andrea Leadsom. It's absolutely vital that Buckingham gets another medical centre. The town has grown enormously and it desperately needs a new doctors' surgery. The District Valuation is totally out of date and must be updated to reflect inflation. This is imperative so that Buckingham has satisfactory medical provision and residents aren't disadvantaged by a shortage of services."