A UK town has erupted into anger over plans to demolish an NHS GP surgery and replace it with a Lidl supermarket. Hawthorn Medical Centre in Fallowfield says it was left stunned by the news that it would be kicked out of its premises to make way for the German discount store.
The medical centre, which includes a GP practice and walk-in centre, is now desperately searching for a new site to build on or a building it could convert – all before a demolition deadline of October 2025, Manchester Evening News reports. The health centre’s bosses say that ‘this doesn’t have to necessarily be a bad thing’, as the successful surgery has been expanding and its current location is now too small.
But having been served a demolition notice by Lidl as a ‘bad Christmas present’ at the end of last year, the staff say the clock is ticking to find a new location. “Even if we find a building and the NHS funding comes through really quickly, it was refurbished and all the rooms went in, it would still be really tight,” said one practice leader in a public meeting held this week.
Managers of Hawthorn Medical Centre held a public meeting on Tuesday afternoon, February 27, in Levenshulme to discuss the future of the practice. The medical centre is located at Fallowfield Retail Park, and its lease is due to end in October 2025.
The building, which houses a successful medical practice, has been served with a demolition notice. It will be replaced by a Lidl supermarket once the lease ends, reports The Manchester Evening News.
Over ten years ago, Hope Citadel, a not-for-profit group of NHS GP practices, established the practice. Their aim was to serve residents in some of Greater Manchester’s most deprived areas.
The Hawthorn Medical Centre, which includes a GP practice, a walk-in centre, car park and ambulance spaces, has been a success story. It even earned an outstanding rating from the health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission.
The news that the practice will have to move has shocked the practice, the NHS, and the community. “This was genuinely a surprise to us, it was genuinely a shock to get the news of the decision. And I think it was a shock to the NHS as well, it’s definitely been a shock to the community,” said Hope Citadel leader and GP Dr Laura Neilson.
“It’s not a great situation, let’s be honest. We’ve had a series of meetings with Greater Manchester NHS and with local councillors to stress that an alternative site needs to be found. Nobody is saying anything other than we need a new site.”
“This building is a little bit small for us and we’ve got more people wanting to join the list and we’re trying to provide more services for the community. We want to carry on being as creative and innovative as we can be, we would hope to be moving to a bigger site.”
The walk-in health centre is popular with thousands of patients each year and has 6,000 registered patients.
It operates seven days a week, dealing with minor illnesses such as diarrhoea, urinary infections and cuts.
But GP surgeries normally take “three or four years to build”, so time is running out, said Dr Neilson.
“The timescale is very tight between now and October. There is a conversation going on with Lidl as to can whether that timescale be pushed pack a bit,” he said.
“Even if we find a building and the NHS funding comes through really quickly, it was refurbished and all the rooms went in, it would still be really tight. There are a number of organisations looking at what land and sites are available.”
“Hopefully there will be a solution out of the community. I don’t have a site at the moment.”
He added: “But the NHS is committed to this practice, there’s a lot of patients registered here and a lot of people using the walk-in centre. There’s also a lot of people in this community who aren’t registered with a GP, and our population is growing.
“And we’re obviously committed to this practice. The staff are brilliant and this is another load of work on them at a really busy time for the NHS, I really want the team to stay together.
“We’ve all just got to slightly hold our nerve over the next year.”
The medical centre is telling everyone that they will still get the same help while they look for a new place. The staff think this might actually be good news because it’s really hard to move a medical centre.
“Over the next year, the services will stay the same,” Dr Neilson told the room.
“The process of moving buildings in the NHS is not easy. Sometimes you need a tipping point to facilitate that move, this doesn’t necessarily need to be a bad thing.”
“The NHS can sometimes keep writing reports about how busy you are and it doesn’t get to the level needed to move… But being flattened does put you quite near the top of that list. Everyone is committed to the idea that the place we go to has a long lease and the capacity to grow.”
“There will probably be compromise along the way, there isn’t a bit of derelict land waiting for a lovely practice to be built on.”
“We’re at a stage where we’re putting suggestions forward and the pressure is on the NHS and the council within the next month to assess these sites seriously and come back to us.”
The medical centre is telling everyone that they will still get the same help while they look for a new place. The staff think this might actually be good news because it’s really hard to move a medical centre.
But people who use the surgery are upset about having to go somewhere else. At a big meeting, one person said: “It’s shocking that a surgery that’s desperately needed is being demolished… it’s ludicrous.”
The health centre is talking to Greater Manchester NHS and Manchester City Council about finding a new spot close to where they are now. Dr Neilson from the centre told the local paper, “We need to find somewhere to move to that’s local to our population, ideally slightly bigger and around a mile away – that would be a good news story for the community. The powers that be are looking at options.”
But the doctors don’t want to move twice because it costs a lot and temporary places often stay for too long. They might also have trouble staying longer at their current place because the supermarket Lidl, which owns the land, might make changes like adding parking rules as it gets bigger.
“The priority is a sustainable, long-term provision for this community,” the doctor said.
Lidl got permission in 2021 to change the shopping area where the health centre is, which means knocking down some buildings but keeping The Hawthorn safe. They thought the shop’s car park would be used by people going to the NHS.
Two years later, Lidl has the green light to knock down a shopping centre because the council said they couldn’t say no, a spokesperson explained. The earlier plan was just about how to safely tear down the building, not about what would happen to the doctor’s office.
“We have been in close conversation with the medical centre regarding the plans for Fallowfield Retail Park,” Lidl shared in a statement.
“A significant notice period has been agreed to help ensure that the local community can continue to access this important provision whilst plans are explored for its relocation. We will endeavour to keep the community updated on plans as they progress.”
Lidl got permission to demolish without needing special planning permission, thanks to new government rules that make planning easier.
A council spokesperson mentioned: “As part of a previous application, consent was granted for units to be demolished at the Fallowfield Retail Park to provide a new supermarket with the medical centre retained. This consent also included a parking provision for the medical centre and there was a clear expectation that the GPs would remain in situ.”
“However, a prior approval application was received at the end of last year pertaining to the demolition of the medical centre – this is not a planning application. The council is being notified about the methodology of demolition only and is not in a position to reject the proposal.”
“We understand that the applicant is in communication with the medical centre and the council, with colleagues in the NHS, are in discussion about how the provision will be continued in the future.”
‘Patients will not be left without care’ however, the NHS has confirmed, and services will ‘continue during the period of transition’ and there will be ‘continuity of service’ throughout the process.
“We know situations like this can be unsettling and we are committed to ensuring NHS services are provided as close as possible to the current location, and in the best way possible for now and in the future,” a spokesperson for NHS Greater Manchester added.
“We will continue to keep residents and patients updated, though if people do have any concerns they can contact the practice either in person or at gmicb-mh.hawthorn@nhs.net.”
