A local NHS board has objected to a planning application for 600 homes on the outskirts of a Buckinghamshire town due to ‘insufficient’ healthcare capacity.

Developers Taylor Wimpey West London submitted plans for a large-scale housing development in Gomm Valley, a 65-hectare site on the outskirts of High Wycombe in May 2022.

The plans, which were revised in July to downscale the number of proposed dwellings, also include proposals for a community facility, a one-form entrance school and 1.4 hectares of employment land.

The development has been the subject of local controversy, however, due to the pressures that could be imposed on the community by the arrival of hundreds of new people needing access to local healthcare and educational services.

The NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care Board (ICB) has now objected to the application on the planning portal, citing “insufficient primary medical care capacity locally” for its decision.

Adding: “We anticipate an increase in the population of approximately 1,350 new patients as a result of this housing growth who will require care from GP Practice Premises in High Wycombe and/or surrounding areas.

READ MORE: ‘Council failed us’ says mobile home resident as gardens are destroyed

“In the majority of cases, primary care services are already operating under extreme pressure and physical constraints, such as the lack of space, hamper the delivery of additional services. The GP Practices in High Wycombe and/or surrounding areas are at full capacity.”

The ICB recommended that Taylor Wimpey contribute £509,731 towards an increase in floorspace of 89.6 m2 “to serve the projected population increase”.

A planning statement submitted to the portal by developers on July 15 provides details on the proposal, including that a planned primary school would serve the surrounding community as well as new arrivals and asserting that the High Wycombe area “is well served by facilities” including GP surgery in Tylers Green, to the northeast of the proposed site.

A spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey said: "Our proposals for a new residential development at Gomm Valley have been carefully considered following consultation with Buckinghamshire Council.

"The site is allocated for development in the adopted Wycombe Local Plan and our plans include a wide mix of homes to meet local needs. In addition, the site will provide large areas of open space, a 25 per cent biodiversity net gain and a new primary school.

"If our planning application is approved, it will include significant contributions to Buckinghamshire Council towards local infrastructure and facilities."