DOCTORS' hopes of moving to a state-of-the-art surgery were dashed for a second time when the council planning committee voted against the plans.

Chief planning officer Peter Yates told councillors this week that redevelopment of the site at the bottom of Newtown Road beside Lidl supermarket should be refused because not enough bus service provisions were in the proposal.

Mr Yates also said using the site as a medical centre did not conform to the overall building plan for the city.

The area had been set aside to provide employment opportunities.

Five members voted for the redevelopment and five voted against.

The committee chairman, Coun Robert Rowden, had the casting vote against the proposal.

Dr Rod Machichan, a partner at the Haresfield House surgery, at Bath Road, said the new site would have allowed him to deal with growing numbers of patients.

He said 2,000 new patients had been put on his books in the last three years.

Difficult

The surgery would have brought 100 jobs into the area.

He said afterwards: "I am very disappointed with this decision.

"They are just being difficult, and don't seem to understand that the surgeries can't expand and patient services in Worcester are going to stagnate."

He said the plan would have allowed patient care in Worcester to be greatly increased - 38,000 patients would have benefited from the move.

"The city council is being pedantic about employment and transport issues," he said.

Coun Mike Layland agreed that the brownfield site should be redeveloped as a surgery, despite being set aside.

"The residents in Keele Close are sick and tired of looking at a bombsite - here is the perfect opportunity to do something about it," he said.

The proposal saw Haresfield surgery, on Bath Road, and St Martin's Gate surgery, in Spring Gardens, remaining separate but using the same premises.

Dr Machichan said the plans would be re-submitted to the planning committee.