New Standard Pharmacy Secured in Corby
Happy New Year and welcome to the first post of 2021.
It is always great to start the New Year off with some good news, especially given the challenges that everyone in pharmacy is facing at the moment and the first two posts of the year are about new pharmacy approvals that we received in December 2020.
The first application was for a client in Corby who had identified a growing area where they felt there was a good case for a new pharmacy to be allowed to open. The problem we faced was that a previous applicant had applied and been refused at appeal and it is always more difficult to get an application approved when a previous application has already been refused. NHS England initially refused the application and we produced an extensive appeal submission to support our client’s appeal. Primary Care Appeals decided to hold an oral hearing to determine the case and it was one of the first “virtual hearings” that are now taking place due to COVID restrictions. The bundle of documents for the appeal ran to 239 pages and the application was opposed by both local pharmacy contractors and also a local dispensing doctor.
We are delighted to have secured this new pharmacy for our client and they are now progressing with their opening plans.