CONCERNS have been raised over the long-awaited new healthcare centre in Burntwood.
Last month plans were finally proposed for the site off Milestone Way which has been in discussion for more than a decade.
The scheme includes a health hub featuring consulting rooms, treatment facilities, and a substantial waiting area.
The proposal also includes plans for an 80-bed care home and three sports pitches.
Burntwood Town Council said that councillors were supportive of the scheme and understood that the application would be for the medical centre only – but they were concerned that the addition of the care home could delay the scheme.
Commenting on the application, the authority said:
"The town council were previously given a clear understanding that this application would be for the medical centre only. It is therefore disappointing to see the care home element now included within the same application.
"This introduces another element which could potentially complicate or delay the medical centre which Burntwood urgently needs.
"Two separate applications would have allowed the medical centre to progress on its own merits, while allowing the town council to consider the care home separately."
The council also said it was "disappointed" in the provision of sports pitches which were not equivalent to what was previously on the site.
In early 2024, Burntwood Youth Centre and the adjacent skatepark were demolished by Staffordshire County Council to make way for the health centre.
Burntwood Town Council added:
"Members were disappointed that land which previously had provided the youth club, skatepark and parkour facilities is now proposed as sports pitches and open space.
"Members felt that this was not equivalent replacement provision for young people, and it represents a loss of dedicated youth infrastructure for the town."
Sport England has also raised a statutory objection to the scheme. This means that if the application is approved by Lichfield District Council, it would be referred to the Secretary of State.
It objected on the basis that development at the site would result in the loss of playing fields.
The organisation says further information is required on the detailed pitch designs and dimensions and ground conditions, and that a playing field feasibility study should be carried out.
The land identified in Lichfield District Council’s playing pitch and outdoor sports strategy (PPOSS) in 2025 identifies that the field could contain seven pitches.
Sport England said:
"We do not consider that the application, as submitted, satisfies any of the five exceptions to the Playing Fields Policy.
"The planning statement acknowledges a loss of open space, but relies on the proposed three pitch layout and wider public benefits.
"However, the PPOSS evidence confirms that the site cannot be said to be surplus to requirements and identifies previous pitch provision, current and future shortfalls, and the need to protect and mitigate football provision.
"The loss of playing field land has therefore not been justified by robust evidence that the land is surplus, replaced by equivalent or better provision, or outweighed by secured sports benefits."
The application is currently under review by planning officers at Lichfield District Council.
