CIVIC chiefs have approved plans for a new doctor's surgery.
Winchester City Council is to build a new St Clements surgery in the city centre to replace the 1970s facility.

Currently a 52-space public car park, the three storey centre, on the corner of Friarsgate and Upper Brook Street, would have 18 consulting rooms, offices and a pharmacy.

Parking on site would mainly be for staff, with some disabled bays.

Councillors looked at the effect on views of the cathedral from Upper Brook Street, but council officers said though there was some lost view this was outweighed by the benefits.

Concerns were also raised about the loss of car parking.

Andy Hickman, assistant director for policy and planning, said that the council's car parking strategy had factored in the loss of this parking and was satisfied.

However, he acknowledged that that strategy had been agreed with the Silver Hill development plans going ahead, including a multi-storey car park.

He said that the council was looking at a short term solution of partly demolishing the unused Friarsgate multi-storey and replacing it with a one level car park with 60 to 80 spaces.

The scheme is a crucial part of the Silver Hill development because without the surgery's move from Tanner Street the £150million scheme cannot be developed.

Similar plans for a surgery were approved in 2012.

The only changes reduce the size of building on one side and retain the one way single street currently in place instead of a two-way road out of the surgery.

To compensate for that there is also a parking bay off Friarsgate set aside for an on call doctor to get out onto that road.

Money has been set aside in the council budget to develop the new surgery.

Original plans were that the owner of the current St Clements surgery site in Tanner Street would be bought out by the developers behind the Silver Hill development when it came forward.

With that stalled, the meeting heard that cabinet members will next week discuss whether the council will buy the site itself.

Dr Suzie Burns, one of the partners at St Clements, said with two other surgeries having moved to the peripheries, she said the surgery strongly agreed with the health authorities and city council that it was important to retain a practice in the city centre.

She said although the surgery had to meet greater demand bosses had been prevented from any development due to the threat of demolition.

"It's important to proceed with a fit for purpose facility in the city centre," she said.

Supporting the application Cllr Jamie Scott said the new surgery had been held back by being tied into Silver Hill and with 17,000 patients on its books a new surgery was needed in the town centre.

It was unanimously approved.