Planning permission has been granted for a temporary pharmacy in Warminster.
The facility, housed in a shipping container on Broxbourne Road, will address the community’s “immediate need”.
It is hoped this temporary pharmacy will pave the way for a future third pharmacy in the town to meet the expected demand from several new housing developments.
David Reeves of the Warminster Area Health and Wellbeing Forum, former mayor Stacie Allensby, and other town councillors are among those who have welcomed the news.
David said, “We have worked hard to help make this happen, and it looks like positive news for the Warminster community. It may also help to smooth the approval of a second application for a permanent pharmacy on the same site.
“As the huge Jubilee Gardens development becomes populated, a much-needed pharmacy on the western side of town will help relieve the pressure on the existing pharmacies.
“After a lengthy planning pause, the applicant now needs to address the conditions of the application and move forward.”
Warminster currently has two pharmacies: Boots Pharmacy in the Market Place and the Bestway Group’s Well Pharmacy in The Cornmarket.
Both have been under pressure since October 2023, when the Boots Pharmacy next to The Avenue GP surgery closed.
In May 2024, Warminster Town Council described the shortage of pharmacy provision in the town as a “crisis” in a letter to the Integrated Care Board. Meanwhile, Cllr Allensby said long queues meant people were waiting hours for prescriptions.
Cllr Allensby said, “I am very glad to see the temporary pharmacy going in at Broadway roundabout. It will help provide some much-needed relief to our town pharmacies and enable people who don’t always want to venture into town to collect their prescriptions.”
Plans for the temporary pharmacy were submitted to Wiltshire Council by Povey Properties. It will be located at 5 Broxbourne Road in Warminster.
Planning documents state the facility will be “small in scale” and explain, “The temporary solution is part of a phased development approach, providing essential pharmaceutical services quickly while a permanent facility is being designed and constructed on the same site.
“The proposed temporary pharmacy provides an essential service to the local community, addressing an immediate need for accessible pharmaceutical services in Warminster.”
Pictured: How the pharmacy in Broxbourne Road will look.
