Campaigners have been left wondering why a new GP surgery is being planned for Beaconsfield which they say “nobody wants” – when residents in east Wycombe have been told they cannot have one despite demand.

Last week, the Bucks Free Press reported how developers want to build a two-storey medical centre on the A40 in Beaconsfield which would be the new home for two other GP surgeries in the town – Millbarn Medical Centre and The Simpson Centre - but residents slammed the location.

But before that, campaigners in east Wycombe launched a petition calling for a new state-of-the-art GP surgery to open at the old Homebase site in High Wycombe.

They were dealt a blow when the NHS Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said there was no need for another GP surgery in the area.

Speaking after the news of a potential new medical centre in Beaconsfield, campaigner and former mayor Trevor Snaith said: “What is the rationale for this new surgery? Residents there don’t want it – but in east Wycombe we want one but have been told no.”

In response, the CCG said: “The Millbarn Medical Centre and The Simpson Centre in Beaconsfield chose to work together to find new premises, as their existing surgeries were felt to be too small and not fit for delivery of a modern medical practice.

“The practices themselves approached a developer, resulting in the current proposal for a new building.While NHS Buckinghamshire CCG has supported this process, GP practices initiate and drive these plans. To date, there has been no appetite for such a move among practices in the east Wycombe area, which currently has sufficient surgeries to meet local need. We understand that broad public support exists for a new medical centre for Beaconsfield, although some concerns have been raised around the location of, and access to, the specific site proposed.”