We must challenge council as we are walking into a crisis – the most important being that of our excellent GP surgery

I read with great concern that NHS England plans to cut the budgets for GP services when A&E departments are already being used as an alternative.

I have consistently raised the issue of excessive building in Soham over a short period of time.

This seems to have been done with no consideration for the need to improve infrastructure given that, in 2007, East Cambridgeshire District Council produced a 208-page paper which clearly stated that services can not cope with new builds until after 2016.

Since then we have had several “development plans” which have ignored public concerns.

A local councillor dismissively told me that “without the people we can’t improve the infrastructure”. This left me speechless and wondering what happened to common sense.

Added to that, I have tried to raise my concerns with the leader of the planning committee and my queries have been ignored.

So much for democracy from those who are elected to represent us.

A recent FOI response tells me that since 2007 “2,020 dwellings including flats have been granted planning permission”. That means a minimum of 4,000 more people moving here over seven years given that most of the houses are three to five-bed.

There has been no new surgery or substantial extension of Staploe and very little in the way of sewerage and electricity improvements.

An already over-subscribed new primary school raises questions about secondary school provision to meet the needs of the many at the three primaries, and then we have the congestion and pollution that the increased population with cars creates.

Added to that six new sites, all on agricultural land, are moving forward apace.

I urge people to start challenging this council because we are walking into a crisis, the most important being that of an excellent surgery being under huge pressure about to lose some of its funding.

D DONALD

Via e-mail