Health and Community Policies
A key aim of the Shepton Mallet Neighbourhood Plan is to create a strong, vibrant and healthy community, able to access local services which reflect the specific needs of the residents of Shepton Mallet.
To achieve this, it is important for the Neighbourhood Plan to identify the appropriate community facilities. Paragraph 28 of the National Planning Policy Framework highlights the importance for neighbourhood plans to promote the retention and development of local services and community facilities. Shepton Mallet currently benefits from a Health Campus which provides both surgery and diagnostic services as well as community hospital and health promoting services. NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board (ICB) called NHS Somerset is responsible for the planning and funding of this provision.
POLICY SEVENTEEN: HEALTH CAMPUS
OBJECTIVE 26:
Ensure the provision of appropriate and adequate health services to meet the needs of a growing population.
i. Proposals for development on the Health Campus which would reduce the space available for the continuation of provision of existing health services will be strongly opposed
ii. If mitigation measures for any space lost are proposed, there will need to be reliable and compelling evidence to support them, and show how there will be no reduction in services currently provided
iii. Any proposals for improvement or expansion of the Health Campus will need to demonstrate how these will improve health services, and prove, with evidence, how the current provision will not be adversely affected.
Reasoned justification for Policy Seventeen
157 In order to support and sustain a growing community, it is important that Shepton Mallet provides an appropriate level of care infrastructure to meet the needs of all sections of the community.
158 The Shepton Mallet Health Campus (Practice Plus Group Hospital) is a facility in Shepton Mallet which currently combines the provision of excellent healthcare to both private and NHS patients. The Campus combines health care and business use on one site.
159 Ensuring adequate provision and quality of health services is undertaken by NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board.
160 This partnership between the private sector and the NHS has been responsible for delivering high quality healthcare services together with reduced waiting times.
161 The provision includes a cottage hospital, a minor injuries unit and an X-Ray department in one building and a Treatment Centre in another.
162 This allows urgent care to be available to patients close to where they live, keeping emergency departments free to manage critically I’ll patients and those with life threatening injuries.
163 With the NHS under increasing pressure, it is vital that where local services are provided, they continue to be maintained in order to meet the needs of a growing and ageing population, and that there is sufficient room to expand services where required.
164 Since its inception in 2012 significant investment has been made into up-to-date equipment which has helped to ensure top quality services continue to be provided. Continued investment in equipment is essential in order to maintain and ensure top quality services continue to be provided.
165 Access to services within the campus is by GP referral and eligible patients from the Parish of Shepton Mallet are able to choose this facility for their treatment.
166 With the proposed increase to the population of Shepton Mallet through the allocation of new housing, the need for the health provision offered through this resource will increase with the likely need for additional facilities and space on site.
POLICY EIGHTEEN: THE LIDO
OBJECTIVE 28:
Provide space for the provision of community leisure facilities
i. Any proposals for residential development of the Charlton Lido outdoor swimming facility in Shepton Mallet, will be vigorously resisted
ii. Should development proposals be submitted with mitigation included as part of the proposal, there will need to be significant and compelling evidence to prove the validity of such proposals and mitigation
iii. The exception to this policy will be proposals for improvements which will enhance this facility whilst maintaining it's overall historic origins.
Reasoned Justification for Policy Eighteen
167 The Lido is an historic icon in Shepton Mallet, having begun its life as a cooling pond for the brewery next door.
168 When youngsters from the town continued to use its warm water for swimming, it was turned into the Lido and became an open-air swimming facility for the community and remains so today.
169 The Lido made use of a heat exchanger that used the excess heat from the brewery to pre-heat the pool ensuring the boiler has less work to do. This extremely effective system of green energy led to the Lido winning an award as the “greenest pool in the country”.
170 The Lido is still used and is popular for both local residents and visitors offering special events such as midnight swims and dog swims at the end of the pool opening season.
171 It is therefore considered essential to preserve this historic institution and protect it from unwarranted development.
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| The Lido, Shepton Mallet | |
POLICY NINTEEN: COMMUNITY FACILITIES
OBJECTIVE 28
Provide space for the provision of community leisure facilities
i. Proposals for a community play park as part of the application for the Canards Grave strategic site will be strongly supported, provided they comply with other policies within the Neighbourhood Plan and the Mendip Local Plan
ii. Proposals will be expected to demonstrate how the park will be integral to the development, and easily accessible to all residents as well as the wider community and people with disabilities
iii. Proposals for allotments as part of the application will also be strongly supported. These must be in an accessible location and on this site to serve the new community
iv. This will be subject to an appropriate s106 requirement
Reasoned Justification for Policy Nineteen
172 A development of 600+ new dwellings is significant in a town with a population of only circa 11,000
173 Recreational and leisure facilities for this growing population therefore becomes increasingly important and crucial to maintaining a balanced lifestyle, especially as the current Gym facilities at Whitstone School are under threat at the time of publication.
174 A strategically planned and delivered network of high-quality green spaces and other environmental features needs to be designed into new development and managed as a multifunctional resource capable of delivering a range of environmental and quality of life benefits for the new community it will create. Green Infrastructure includes parks, open spaces, playing fields, woodlands, allotments and private gardens.
175 It is vital in any new development there is sufficient space for younger people to be able to gather and play safely. A development of the size of Cannards Grave needs to deliver space for leisure activities as well as housing.
176 Currently there are three allotment sites in Shepton Mallet. These are Hitchen Lane Allotments, Allyn Saxon Drive Allotments and Whitstone Road Allotments.
177 One of the implications of the Covid 19 pandemic has been a surge in requests for allotment space as more people realise the benefits of home-grown food. This has resulted in a growing waiting list for allotment space.
178 In addition to this, working from home has created a better work / life balance for many individuals who now wish to use their additional leisure time producing food for their consumption.
179 The Cannards Grave strategic site offers the opportunity to provide additional space to both new and existing residents.