Decision due on funding for two new GP facilities to serve Newhaven patients

The proposals, which were given the backing of Lewes District Council’s cabinet on Thursday (February 2), seek £6.5m to develop two new GP facilities within the town centre as part of the Reimagining Newhaven Programme.If approved in a full council decision, part of the funding would be used to expand on existing plans — funded by a Future High Street Fund bid — to redevelop the former Co-op building in Newhaven Square into a creative and community facility.

The expansion to the project, set to cost up to £4m, would add a GP surgery and leisure facilities to the redeveloped building.

The remaining £2.5m would go towards the creation of a second GP surgery in a neighbouring shop unit, formerly occupied by Peacocks.

In a statement released after the meeting council leader James MacCleary (Lib Dem) said: “This news is a gamechanger for residents and the town’s doctors and surgery staff, at a time when primary care has never been under so much pressure.

“It fills me with immense pride to say that we are on target to give residents the modern and high-quality healthcare and wellbeing support they need and deserve.”

While supportive of the project as a whole, the council’s Conservative group have raised concerns around the costs.

Speaking on behalf of the council’s Policy and Performance Advisory Committee (PPAC), Conservative group deputy leader Liz Boorman said: “While we appreciate and know that every town in the district needs better GP facilities, we also have huge concerns that the costs are now spiralling out of control and the negative impact this is having from the time taken.

“It seems like this administration keeps chopping and changing its mind on what it wants to do. It comes up with one scheme then another scheme and the impact is the costs are escalating.

“It is not the first time for a new budget to be asked for and I don’t think it’ll be the last. This needs a detailed business case put forward before anything continues.”

In light of this, Cllr Boorman said the project should be brought back for further scrutiny before moving ahead.

Cllr Boorman’s comments saw criticism from Cllr MacCleary, however, who said: “It is staggering to suggest in any way that the cost of inflation on this project is in anyway down to this administration.

“In reality we had a Conservative government who crashed our economy into a wall repeatedly, threw it off a cliff then jumped up and down on it. We are still looking at 11 per cent inflation over the last couple of months and it is a denial of reality to suggest that anybody else is responsible for cost increases.

“Of course cost has also been pushed up by another government policy, which is Brexit. It has pushed up labour prices, it has pushed up the cost of materials, it has made all of these things so much harder and yet here we are still pushing forward with it, because we know it is important.”

Lewes MP Maria Caulfield said afterwards:

Maria Caulfield MP said: “I am very pleased by this announcement for the new GP medical hub in Newhaven. This will mean state of the art GP facilities for the town funded by Government which will support GPs and improve access for patients.

The services will also complement the new creative and community offers being progressed as part of the Government’s Future High Streets Fund.”