PROPOSALS to open a new pharmacy with GP services in a village near Bicester have been supported by the local parish council.

The plan to open the facility in Heyford Park, which was put forward by a group of Bicester-based doctors, was refused by NHS England because it did not believe it would bring significant benefits to the area.

An appeal will be submitted early next week.

Heyford Park Parish Council had not given any indication of whether or not it supported the plan, until last Wednesday evening when it said at a meeting that it would submit a letter of support - which has now been received.

Parish council chair Councillor Steve Cook said: "Heyford Park Parish Council support the opening of a pharmacy and associated services and this view is also supported by the Residents of Heyford Park.

"Yet again the villages are losing out and the objections raised appear to have come from services within Bicester rather than the villages themselves. A pharmacy in Heyford Park would not only help the our residents but also the surrounding villages, just as our local Sainsbury's is helping."

Heyford Park Residents Association has also written in support, highlighting the fact that the closest pharmacies to residents - in Bicester and Deddington - were not in locations that were easily accessible, given Heyford Park's rural location.

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