Medical centre planned for Crewe
Cheshire Medical Centre would be able to offer GP clinics, general surgeries and renal dialysis if plans are approved by Cheshire East Council.
London-based 4D Planning drafted the application for the scheme, which will see 20 and 22a Market Street transition from retail spaces to a medical facility. The plans will see three storeys added to 22a Market Street, and the addition of one storey and the extension of the first floor at 20 Maret Street.
Those additions would increase the building’s internal floor space by 8,977 sq ft, making it a nearly 15,000 sq ft facility.
The space would be broken down into multiple units, including a day surgery that could offer orthopaedic, ophthalmic, vascular, plastic or ENT surgeries. There would also be a renal dialysis unit, polyclinics, laboratories, a pharmacy and a GP practice capable of having three GP clinics a day.
If approved, Cheshire Medical Centre would help alleviate stress on the NHS, according to planning documents. It also said that the medical centre would also allow patients to be treated faster, as wait times for elective surgeries have increased because of Covid-19.
Cheshire Medical Centre said it would create between 70 and 100 jobs if planning permission is granted. Those jobs would range from doctors and nurses to receptionists and accounts. It said that it also wanted to offer medical training and education.
Such a centre would be an asset to the town facilities, but it would be better located out of the centre on an industrial estate, where adequate car parking and space for delivery vehicles would be easier to provide. The proposal as it stands is totally out of keeping with the surrounding buildings, and would tower over them
By Mark Chadwick