District Councillor Charmaine Morgan, Chair of SOS Grantham Hospital says,
The Government has increased housing targets nationally which impacts on existing Local Plans and those in the pipeline. This affects every council nationally. As a result, South Kesteven District Council are having to review the 2025 Local Plan which was in the pipeline.
This could prove a chance for Grantham residents and representatives to challenge the current District strategic objective of putting the majority of new development here, when the south of the District has better access to a range of critical healthcare facilities at Peterborough Hospital which have been removed from Grantham including A&E, acute care beds, paediatric and Maternity care. However Peterborough Hospital is also struggling to meet targets and residents in the south of our District also have issues with public transport and poor roads.
District Councillor Charmaine Morgan and Chair of SOS Grantham Hospital has undertaken research into the relationship between NHS services and Planning.
She said: One of the big questions everyone asks is ‘How can Councils approve more development when our NHS services are struggling locally?’
Planning decision makers rely on statutory consultees like the NHS to provide evidence to aid decision making. Without this decisions are overturned on Appeal and costs can be awarded to Appellants.
However there are fundamental flaws with this process when it comes to healthcare.
The Government set both National Planning Policy (NPPF) and NHS commissioning rules.
There is a staggering gulf between the range of medical needs new residents may have, including emergency A&E, Maternity, acute care, paediatric care, elective surgery, cancer care and mental health support, and the ability of NHS providers to seek funding from developers to pay for them.
Government commissioning guidelines specifically block NHS providers from applying for funds from developers for any of these key services.
Even the area where the NHS can seek funding associated with development i.e GP practices and community centres, in reality is weak and with little or no governance. This process relies entirely on the willingness of GPs to either extend their existing practices based on anticipated population growth, or, set up a new practice on the new development. Whilst NHS providers may call for funds from developers via S106, this money sits in a pot until GPs apply for it. They can only claim capital costs i.e costs associated with building, not staff. They must go through a lengthy process to do this and if their building works are not completed within the permitted S106 timeframe, the GP loses their funding. £millions of unclaimed S106 funding sits in pots across the country whilst increasing numbers of patients queue to see their GP.
The government clearly does not expect developers to fund the NHS services associated with the new homes they are building, but neither is the government providing adequate funding to meet the gulf as demand, associated with population growth, significantly increases. In the last decade, the UK population has increased by 10m people. Many moving into rural areas. NHS hospital services have reduced rather than increased to meet that need. This situation is entirely of the Government’s making and is not sustainable.
In the meanwhile the Local Plan requires significant work. It depends on landowners coming forward to offer sites for development. The sites are then assessed for suitability and go out to Public Consultation. Town and Parish Councils have an important part to play in this process.
However the requirement to review the 2025 Local Plan will extend the period of speculative applications.
Far more concerning is the change being implemented to delegated decision making coming in this October. This will take virtually all decisions away from elected accountable councillors, and leave them to unelected officers.
That is a dreadful attack on local democracy, compounded by the Local Government Reorganisation, which will further remove decision making locally.
I have taken these concerns to our local Gareth Davies MP Davies who, I am pleased to say, has expressed a great concern and agreed to investigate further.
These national concerns are having a local impact.
According to Lincolnshire ICB the Southern Quadrant Spitalgate Heath development of 3400 mixed homes will generate a further 40,000 contacts across our NHS services. Contacts our NHS providers will struggle to cope with.
Our Chair of Health Scrutiny has agreed to add this issue to the committee’s Agenda.
As the Government has opted to intervene more in Planning decisions, with the Secretary of State now considering all major Refused applications, will they give weight to this concern and accept it as a valid reason for Refusal? If not the Government must resolve the shortfall in NHS provision to avoid our communities and NHS staff suffering the consequences.
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