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'Disappointment' as plans for new pharmacy rejected

BBC A small boots pharmacy in a red brick building. BBC
There are two pharmacies in Amesbury, with those collecting prescriptions often left queuing out the door

Campaigners have voiced their "disappointment" after plans for a new pharmacy were rejected.

Amesbury, Wiltshire, currently has two chemists, which often have "queues outside amid high demand", campaigners have said.

However, an application for another pharmacy was rejected, reportedly after a previous assessment in 2021 said the town has "enough capacity".

Amesbury's deputy mayor Dr Monica Devendran said: "I wrote a letter of support but was totally disappointed to find out that the provider was rejected."

She said there are now plans to appeal the decision.

Amesbury has two pharmacies, which are both close together, and one has been described by campaigners as "very small".

Eve and Peter Beyfus smiling while sitting on couch in home. They are both wearing glasses, Eva is wearing a grey top and Peter is wearing a bowtie with a green shirt.
Locals residents Eve and Peter Beyfus sometimes have to wait two weeks for a prescription to be processed

Local residents Eve and Peter Beyfus are in their 70s and both need medication.

Mrs Beyfus previously told the BBC that prescriptions sometimes take "two weeks to be processed".

"It's not a fault of the staff. There's not the capacity. Now it's getting increasingly difficult because more housing has been built," she said.

The Bath, Wiltshire and Swindon area has the lowest number of pharmacists per person in England, according to figures from November 2023, external.

Monica Devendran smiling while wearing flowery top and sitting on yellow armchair in house.
Dr Monica Devendran has been campaigning for a new pharmacy

Dr Devendran has been pushing for another pharmacy for some time. At a Wiltshire Council committee meeting on Tuesday, Ms Devendran brought up the topic again.

She told fellow councillors the assessment carried out in 2021 was no longer "the reality."

Ms Devendran asked a representative from Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board about the issue at the meeting, but a formal response has not been submitted yet.

The BBC has also approached the board for comment.

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