MP presses Prime Minister on Thornbury Medical Centre rebuild

Today, Liberal Democrat MP Claire Young raised the plans to rebuild Thornbury Medical Centre with the Prime Minister and urged him to ensure there were no further delays.

Shortly after being elected, the Thornbury & Yate MP wrote to the Health Secretary Wes Streeting to demand the new Government commit to the long-awaited rebuilding.

In a letter in October, Health Minister Karin Smyth confirmed that the funding was still on the table, provided that a full business case was approved.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Claire Young MP urged the Prime Minister to ensure the project was delivered on and did not become ‘yet another hollow promise’.

In response to her question, Sir Keir Starmer promised to ensure the Health Minister meets with Claire Young to provide regular updates on the project.

Speaking afterwards, Claire Young MP said:

“The people of Thornbury have been waiting for decades to see a new health centre delivered. Yet at every turn we’ve seen hopes dashed and projects fall by the wayside.

“It’s welcome news that the funding remains available and that the process is advancing, but we must ensure we focus on making sure we actually get spades in the ground.

“The Prime Minister today said that the rebuild was important and rightly recognised that any delay would be a concern. Now he needs to back those words up with action.

“I will continue to hold the Government’s feet to the fire on this, so we don’t see the new Medical Centre pushed into the long grass by Ministers and bureaucrats in Whitehall.”