Greenwood House. Pic: Google Streetview

An end to the lengthy saga around a new health centre for Burntwood could be in sight, according to Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant.

Greenwood House
Greenwood House. Pic: Google Streetview

The town has failed to see development start on a new facility that had been promised following the closure of Hammerwich Hospital and St Matthews Hospital.

A health and wellbeing centre and Burntwood Leisure Centre was only ever designed to be a temporary measure and there had been fears over a healthcare shortage given the town’s rising population.

But Mr Fabricant says there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel for a proposed new centre at Greenwood House.

“I have been in close contact with Staffordshire County Council and South East Staffordshire and Seisdon Peninsula (SES&SP) Clinical Commissioning Group regarding the long delayed Burntwood Health Centre over the last few months and years,” he said. “An end is now in sight.

“Some of the delays were caused by the nature of the GP practices in Burntwood and an unwillingness to cooperate, but these problems have been overcome and construction work is expected to be well underway by March of 2019, if not sooner, subject to planning permission being granted by Lichfield District Council – there seems little doubt that planning permission will be granted.

“I would expect a brand new centre to be opened within three years on the old Greenwood House site on Lichfield Road in Burntwood.”

The former residential nursing home closed on the site in 2007 and the land is still owned by Staffordshire County Council.

Michael Fabricant

Mr Fabricant said talks are ongoing about how best to utilise the new centre.

“Discussions have been on going with the nearby Fulfen and Spires practices for some years about a potential new health centre on the site,” he said. “This would mean both practices would relocate and that their current premises would then be vacated and returned to NHS Property Services.

“There is no space to grow on their existing site at Hudson Drive as it is surrounded on all sides by either residential or commercial buildings.

“The county has funded the preparation of drawings that have formerly been the basis of dialogue with both practices and the NHS England area team in trying to find a proposal that would meet the needs of the residents of Burntwood as well as the GP practices themselves.

“Architects drawings for the proposal are now fully developed and the plan is progressing full steam ahead.

“This much needed project has been long awaited by the people of Burntwood, but it does now look as if planning for the purpose built centre is well underway.”

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.

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Steve Norman
6 years ago

In fact Mr Fabricant tried to suggest earlier this year that because I was able to show he had done nothing to lobby the NHS he had been active elsewhere so I asked another Freedom of Information request in February:

“Has the CCG received any representations in support of a permanent replacement for the Burntwood Health Centre situated near the Leisure Centre (which has planning permission only to September 2019) between the 1st of April 2013 and the 12th of January 2017 from the Member of Parliament for Lichfield? If so please state on what dates these were received and whether they were by email, letter, phone call or meeting?”

On the 15th March 2017 the CCG replied:

“I can confirm that NHS South East Staffordshire and Seisdon Peninsula CCG holds no record of any communication being received from a Member of Parliament for Lichfield regarding Burntwood Health Centre.”

Toast
6 years ago

‘Burntwood’ and ‘Michael Fabricant’ in the same sentence, now there’s something you don’t see very often!

Susan Rhodes
6 years ago

Well, is this the start of more broken promises and lies!!??
If we are to believe this article, according to Michael Fabricant MP, plans are in hand for the promised, long awaited health centre to, finally, be built on the site of Greenwood House, Burntwood.
We, being staff, residents and their families were given false promises by Labour Councillors, about the future of Greenwood House when, in 2008, residents were moved from the home they loved to other homes against their wishes and staff were redeployed or made redundant. Since then we have heard nothing but lies
But now we are to believe that, at long last, this fiasco has been resolved? (I won’t be holding my breath.) Even if it is going to happen WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MARCH 2019 FOR BUILDING WORK TO COMMENCE?

Toast
6 years ago

…because, as the Tories love to say when there’s something useful that needs funding: there’s no ‘Magic Money Tree’ Susan

Wendy Gilbert
6 years ago

As a Burntwood resident who has watched Greenwood House fall into disrepair wondering what it would take to get it sorted. Over the last nine years there has been numerous opportunities to use this building. It could become the hub for Burntwood encompassing many different groups, instead it has become an eyesore. Those people that were moved nine years ago must be terribly upset seeing something they called home in the state of disrepair.
To the powers that be get your fingers out and get this sorted once and for all. Regardless of who has or hasn’t done what and how . Please don’t let this rumble on for another nine years.

Steven Norman
6 years ago

Ms Rhodes knows full well, because she attended the same meeting as me at Greenwood House with residents, their carers and the staff (of which she was a member) that the Labour Council’s plan was to make Greenwood House a resource for people with Dementia and their carers. The Conservatives won control of Staffordshire County Council the following year so that plan was not followed through.

In fact, despite a cheap publicity stunt by local Burntwood Conservatives and the then Cabinet Member responsible, Matthew Ellis, saying that “construction will start in March next year “ (2013) copper pipes have been stolen, police dogs (Mr Ellis’s?) have been trained in the building and bats have taken up residence – but still no new GP surgery.

Neither did they reopen it, as they could have done if they really believed that was the right thing to do, but instead closed some of those that Labour retained following the consultation.

Where I agree with Ms Rhodes is that we should be sceptical until the current Cabinet Member responsible, Alan White, tells the press he has been successful in getting a deal with the almost invisible body now responsible for local health services – the Clinical Commissioning Group, (CCG).