WINCHESTER'S council boss last night accused campaigners of needlessly alarming the public by dragging the battle over Silver Hill into the redevelopment of a city GPs' practice.

Cllr Stephen Godfrey moved to assure residents that St Clements Surgery will be rebuilt as part of the £150 million development before the old site is bulldozed.

The Winchester Deserves Better campaign against Silver Hill is backing a petition by patient Gill Davies, urging the council to separate the projects.

They say the surgery's 17,000 patients are being put at risk by tying the plans to the larger revamp of flats and shops.

The petition of 422 signatures, previously reported by the Chronicle, was presented to Winchester City Council last night.

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Ms Davies, a Winchester Deserves Better supporter, expressed fears that planning and construction of the surgery will be delayed if it remains tied to Silver Hill.

She said: "We are worried that the practice will have to move out of the centre of Winchester, or worse still close down altogether."

Hampshire Chronicle:

Gill Davies presents her petition to Winchester City Council

Cllr Godfrey told the meeting that most delays had been caused by campaign leader Kim Gottlieb's challenges to Silver Hill.

He said: "If this was my GP practice, I would be livid that anyone would suggest that it would have to close and I would be bouncing up and down in the council chambers demanding action.

"However, I'm afraid that some people have been winding up the public unnecessarily and inappropriately.

"It will be finished before the land the current surgery building is on needs to be used for the development of Silver Hill."

The Silver Hill construction schedule is set to be revealed by developer TH Real Estate, formerly known as Henderson, later this month.

Cllr Godfrey added: "The fundamental reason why there have been delays is that those who try to stop or delay the Silver Hill development mean that we can't get the old building purchased by the developer. If there's no purchaser for the old building, the doctors can't move."

Cllr Gottlieb denied his support for the petition was related to his legal action against Silver Hill.

He said after the meeting: "The assurances [from Cllr Godfrey] are vague because 'saying' and 'doing' are two separate things and the council has no real idea how to ensure that the new surgery will be ready before Henderson say they want to start works on site."

Councillors approved a new business case for the surgery and pharmacy ahead of doctors signing the lease.

Cllr Godfrey said the scheme was "only just viable" and suggested "significant sums of money" were needed to subsidise it. The business case was debated in private due to commercial confidentiality.

Plans and impressions of the new practice will be displayed at Winchester Guildhall on Friday November 20 from 1.30-4.30pm and the following day from 10am-12pm.