Letter: We Will Consider Our Options In Our Search For Suitable Premises

Published on: 29 Mar, 2019
Updated on: 29 Mar, 2019

Burchatt’s Barn – Photo Mandy Millyard

From: Philip J Hehir and Annie Colman,

Owners of Guildford Chiropractic Centre

In response to: Burchatt’s Barn Saved for Community as Objectors Win Change-of-Use Refusal

We are of course disappointed with the decision of the council committee and what thatnow means for the future of our business.

It may be easy to think that this was just about growth or being able to operate in abeautiful setting, but that simply wasn’t the case for us. This was about a necessity to find premises that would be suitable for our patient’s needs within the locality of our current practice, whilst being able to offer better access for those less mobile.

The Burchatt’s Barn premises would also mean we could offer more for our community such as additionally needed health services, better access to those that need it and an amazing central space to create a health focussed hub for the community.

We will continue to look for a suitable D1 property, though have serious concerns about the lack of this type of premises in Guildford after having searched for nearly two years prior to this process. We are also aware of other local practitioners having extreme difficulty finding suitable D1 sites too, and more recently yet another practice facing eviction due to property development into flats.

It is a worrying time for locally-run healthcare businesses. We are all small independents trying to help and support our community, and we find the property market to be very difficult.

As much as there is a lack of D1 property availability, there also feels to be a lack of support or advice for small businesses. It has been very challenging. We have found the process quite tricky overall.

Finding ourselves at the centre of campaigning has been personally very stressful. We are two very normal local people trying to keep our business alive. Having also received offensive private messages from political campaigners telling us to back off, has been incredibly intimidating and upsetting.

We are now considering all our options, however we’re incredibly grateful for the continued support from local residents and patients as we try to navigate through this difficult time. As always, our main focus is and will continue to be, providing an uninterrupted, high-quality, service for our wonderful patients. They continue to be our main priority.