HOPES for a new dental surgery in Basingstoke have been dashed after the landowner confirmed they are no longer planning to build a surgery.

Land at the Island Site, off Beggarwood Lane, had been set aside for a new surgery when the development, which also includes the Holly Blue pub and a care home, was given planning permission.

But the Gazette can reveal that the 0.2-acre site will now be used instead to build a children’s nursery.

READ MORE: Fed up patients waiting for up to two years for dentist appointments

Select Enterprises bought the land from developer Grainger at an auction in April 2021. 

Grainger first obtained planning permission on the wider site in Beggarwood for a pub, care home, retirement flats and dentist surgery in 2018.

The developer then serviced the site and sold all aspects except the dentist surgery to specialist developer operators.

It is understood that Grainger had a deal in place with local dentists to build a surgery on the site.

However, this deal collapsed and the developer then sold the site with the planning permission in place. 

Beggarwood's current dental surgery is based on Broadmere Road, next to the doctor's surgery.

SEE ALSO: Hampshire councillor waits a year for dentist appointment and calls for urgent action to be taken to address industry crisis

A spokesperson for Select Enterprises said: “We can confirm we have acquired an interest in the land at Beggarwood in Basingstoke.

“Whilst it is not our intention to build a dental surgery, our vision is to provide something we believe will be of at least equal if not more benefit to the local community.

“We are proposing to build a children’s nursery at the site which will be a very valuable resource for local families and help to meet the current need for childcare in the local area.

“We are seeking to share more details about our proposals soon and we look forward to engaging more with the local community in due course.”

The news has not been welcomed by the community, as dentists are in high demand in Hampshire.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough councillor for Hatch Warren and Beggarwood Dan Putty said this was a “great deception” by Grainger.

Cllr Putty added: “It was supposed to locate a dental surgery there to cater for all the current houses and the new houses coming at the golf course and Hounsome Fields.

"They sold the land for profit and now we are going to be left without a dental surgery to cater for the whole of the area. The one that we have is far too small. This is a deception.”

Hampshire County councillor for the area Stephen Reid said although he thinks the nursery is a facility for the community, it is not the one that was promised.

He said: "We were disappointed to hear that Grainger had sold the site earmarked for a dental surgery on the Island site at Beggarwood. Grainger had made a big thing of their proposal for a new facility and it had a lot of support in the community.

"The dental surgery would not only have been a benefit to the community in its own right, but might also have freed up extra room for the Beggarwood GP surgery to use. This may well be needed as the number of homes in the area expands.”

Research conducted by the BBC earlier this year found that nine in 10 NHS dental practices across the UK are not accepting new adult patients for treatment. 

As previously reported, some patients in Basingstoke were facing waits of up to two years for treatment. 

The new owner will now have to submit a new application for planning permission to build the children’s nursery.

A spokesperson from Grainger said it could not comment on the plans when contacted by the Gazette.