PLANS for a new GP surgery in Stow have been rejected.

Permission was sought to build a new medical centre in the town at Tall Trees on the southern side of Oddington Road.

Cotswold District Council planning committee voted against the application amid fears the site was too small, would not provide enough parking and would be difficult for people to access on foot as it was a too far out of town.

Cllr Barry Gibb’s said the Tall Trees site – which comprises part of an open paddock that horses graze from – was unsuitable for a new surgery.

“As a surgery there is not enough room for expansion and I would be concerned about the lack of parking spaces and space for emergency vehicles,” he said.

This was the third application for a new GP centre in Stow, but was not supported by doctors at the town's only surgery, in Well Lane.

They do want to move from Stow-on-the-Wold Surgery as they believe the Well Lane site is too small and unsuitable for expansion. However they are already supporting plans to build a new surgery on land known as the Gypsy Field.

The Gypsy Field plans include a primary healthcare centre, a pharmacy and five houses with new access roads and parking.

Andrew Eastabrook, of Eastabrook Architects ,which would design the Tall Trees surgery, said the sole reason for the application was to establish whether the site could be used in the event of the Gypsy Field plans being rejected.

Plans for the Gypsy Field site have still to be determined.