Local people’s views were at the heart of a joint report between the NHS and the Wantage Town Council Health Committee that was discussed by Oxfordshire’s Joint Health and Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Following this period of working closely with the community, we are planning to refurbish the ground floor of the community hospital, subject to a successful application for community investment levy (CIL) funding from Vale of White Horse District Council.
The plan is to submit an application after an open public meeting that was held at The Beacon in Wantage on Thursday, 11 July, which was when the proposed refurbishment design and an update on the types of services that could operate from the ground floor space of the hospital was shared with local people. The slides used on the night are now available online.
The CIL funding application is being made during 2025, with the aim of contractors being appointed and work starting on refurbishing the hospital’s ground floor ready for new services to start from Autumn 2025.
Further updates will be provided as soon as they are made available – including at a public meeting that is being held on Thursday, 28 February (6.00 to 7.30pm) at the Wantage Silver Band Hall on the Reading Road between Wantage and Grove.
The current maternity unit service on the top floor is not affected by these changes.
Services
Project timetable
These are our next key milestones:
- Autumn 2024 – CIL funding application progressed
- Winter 2024 – public engagement on the final design and service configuration plans
- Spring 2025 – final designs and costings approved, with contractor tender process started
- Spring 2025 – contractors appointed and final CIL funding application submitted
- Summer 2025 – refurbishment works get under way (subject to successful CIL funding award)
- Autumn 2025 – service transitions take place
- Autumn 2025 – ground floor refurbishment and service configuration project concludes
Published: 16 July 2024