Controversial Somerset cancer day care centre will be taken soon
Taunton residents will find out in a matter of days whether a new cancer care centre will be built on playing fields near the town’s hospital.
Cancer charity Maggie’s was granted planning permission in March 2019 to build the centre on the northernmost portion of the Galmington playing fields near Musgrove Park Hospital.
Taunton Deane Borough Council granted this permission in one of its last actions before being abolished, despite significant local opposition to the loss of communal green space.
Somerset West and Taunton Council – which replaced Taunton Deane in April 2019 – will decide on December 8 whether to proceed with the disposal of the land to allow the new centre to be built.
The playing fields were gifted to the people of Taunton in 1931 by former MP Brigadier Andrew Hamilton Gault, who represented the town between 1924 and 1935.
The council owns the freehold to the fields, and made an ‘in principle’ commitment towards a Maggie’s centre on part of the land as far back as 2011.
Maggie’s intends to build the new centre west of the existing pavilion at the northern end of the site, which is currently home to a children’s play area.
Up to 1,840 sq m of the field could be transferred to the charity – or just under five per cent of the total green space – with the council intending to put the remainder into trust to protect it from further development.
As part of the construction process, Maggie’s would be liable to provide and equip a new children’s play area and realign the existing sports pitches.
Alison North, the council’s director for internal operations, said a significant level of support remained for retaining the fields in their current form and size.
She said: “There has been continued community interest in the ‘in principle’ decision to sell a small part of Galmington Playing Fields, and feedback has challenged the appropriateness of the location of the centre and the impact that would have on playing field provision in Taunton.”
She added, however, that the sale should proceed because there were no alternative viable sites in the county town for such a facility.
She said: “Site visits have taken place with officers and Maggie’s to explore alternative options not on the Musgrove Park estate that would negate the need to utilise the piece of land from Galmington Playing Fields.
“The conclusion was that all of these options were very difficult to achieve without some very significant or legal obstacles to address, or they are not within the 100-metre distance from the oncology ward criteria set by Maggie’s operational strategy.”
The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said the proposed site would be best for both existing and new patients, and aligned with its redevelopment plans to transform the wider hospital complex by 2030.
A spokesman said: “Our redevelopment plans are complex, and involve an extended programme of decants and multiple site moves that preclude there being any viable option that would have located a Maggie’s Centre on our site, which could be easily accessible to the patients in the Beacon Centre.
“We still consider the current proposed site for the Taunton Maggie’s centre is the best and only solution in the medium term that will allow cancer patients visiting the Beacon Centre to benefit from the services provided at the Maggie’s centre.”
The trust said its 2030 plans included “no proposals to develop further healthcare facilities on any part of the Galmington playing fields.”
The Liberal Democrats won control of the newly-created council at the 2019 local elections, with a manifesto commitment to “protect green spaces and wedges from development”.
Andrew Sharman, chairman of the Friends of Galmington Playing Fields, called the centre “a tumour on our park” when the plans were approved in 2019.
He has called on the party to honour this commitment in an email to Lib Dem councillors seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
He said: “We understand this is to be a ‘free vote’ for councillors. So, as a committee, we have opted not to lobby as we felt that would place undue influence on those whose judgement we, as a community, have absolute faith in.
“We hope that on the night the council will finally deliver on the promise that saw you all elected.”
The full council will meet virtually to discuss the proposed sale on December 8 from 6:15pm. The meeting will be webcast via the council’s website.