Fears have been expressed that the retirement village and Primary Care Centre planned to be built on land next to Quakers Walk, Devizes, will lead to gridlock in London Road and that the number of parking spaces is inadequate.

The planning application for the care village and medical centre has been submitted to Wiltshire Council by the Bristol-based charity, St Monica Trust, which wants to build 109 care flats and a 98 bed care home while the three GP surgeries in Devizes will relocate to a Primary Care Centre on the site. The development will be next to the 244 houses that are to be built and a primary school to replace St Peter’s School in Bath Road.

The only access to the site by car is the new access road being built off London Road between Wiltshire Police’s headquarters and Roundway Park.

Consultants for St Monica Trust say the extra vehicle journeys generated by the retirement village and Primary Care Centre will not be significant. The number of parking spaces planned for the Primary Care Centre are 66 and 84 for the retirement village.

The Primary Care Centre will employ 135 people in total with 69 on site at any one time while the retirement village will employ 116 staff.

Consultants Tetlow King Planning of Bristol say in a statement with the planning application: “We realise that this parking number (66) is challenging but the doctors and the Primary Care Trust are committed to avoiding this becoming a car-based use without alternatives. They are willing to fund a bus shelter on the approach road to the application site.”

Traffic consultants Pinnacle Transportation in Bristol said a minibus will be provided to cater for residents and staff of the retirement village.

In their submission they say: “An assessment of traffic associated with the development demonstrates that the number of vehicular trips to the site in the peak hour is not significant. It is therefore concluded the development will not have a detrimental impact on the safety or operation of the local highway network.”

But Tony Sedgwick, who lives in London Road and is traffic advisor to The Trust for Devizes, said: “The number of car parking spaces planned is ridiculously too few. The combined current number of spaces at the surgeries, the hospital and health centre is 129. People who turn up to see a doctor at the Quaker’s Walk site and can’t find a parking space will park on the road and in dangerous places.

“If you have a car and your child is sick are you going to walk him to the surgery or get on a bus? No, you will go by car.

“I’m absolutely convinced the development will lead to gridlock on London Road.”

As well as housing GPs, the Primary Care Centre will also provide services currently provided at Devizes Hospital and Devizes Family Health Centre such as ante natal care, dental treatment and physiotherapy. However X-ray is not planned to be provided.

The centre was set to be built on NHS owned land in Green Lane but NHS Wiltshire did a U-turn last year when St Monica Trust offered the Quakers Walk site to the GPs.