Plans for a doctor's surgery have been scrapped 25 years after being originally approved.

In 1998, Swale council gave the green light for the Thistle Hill development in Minster.

It included a condition that no building take place on part of the land which was "safeguarded for the provision of a primary school, community hall and health centre".

Now, documents have been sent to the local authority to try to remove the health centre, earmarked for Camellia Road, from the conditions.

If approved, the condition would be altered and now read: "No development whether permitted under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 or not, shall be carried out within the area identified pursuant to condition, to be safeguarded for the provision of the primary school and community hall unless previously agreed in writing by the District Planning Authority."

A design statement from the applicant explained no healthcare provider had come forward in nearly three decades to take on the site.

Developers Vistry claimed in the past few years it has tried to contact the Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and local authority "a number of times", but hasn't received a response.

The company is now looking to develop the bit of land or dispose of it for another party to work on.

It said: "Given the location of the land within an established residential area, it is an ideal candidate for a small scale residential development, which would make a notable contribution towards Swale council's housing supply.

"However, with the safeguarding requirement still in place, Vistry cannot take any action on the land.

"Vistry have tried to engage with SBC through the pre-application progress in November 2022 to establish how best to remove the safeguarding requirement, however despite following up on the inquiry with the officer on multiple occasions no response has been received."

A Swale council spokesman said: “The need for health facilities is a matter for the local NHS board to determine, and they can request conditions are placed on planning applications that require facilities to be delivered where needed as part of new developments.

“The local Integrated Care Board is being consulted on these proposals and any variation to these conditions would need a body of evidence to clearly demonstrate they were required.”

An NHS Kent and Medway ICB spokesman said: “NHS Kent and Medway will respond to the application by the deadline.”

You can view the plans here with reference 23/500801/OUT.