Funding drawn from new development grows dental services in Alton

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CIL dentist

Hundreds of new NHS dentistry places were opened in Alton thanks to money drawn from local housing developments. 

Alton Dental, in Anstey Road, has expanded its practices thanks to over £200,000 of developer contributions, awarded by East Hampshire District Council and Alton Town Council. 

The enhancements led to more than 600 new NHS places and 500 annual emergency appointments. Annual emergency appointments are one-off appointments for patients referred by 111 services who may be suffering from toothache, bleeding or trauma. 

Developer contributions are funds paid by housebuilders to improve the infrastructure and facilities in the local area. 

EHDC contributed £190,000 of Community Infrastructure Levy, with Alton Town Council putting in a further £20,000. 

Run by Hardeep Safri, the practice has expanded into vacant premises next door, increasing capacity and allowing many more NHS patients to register for care. 

Hardeep Safri said: "I am very grateful to EHDC and Alton Town Council for granting the developer contributions towards this project. There is a huge demand for NHS patient spaces but creating the capacity to open them up can be very complicated. 

"The developer contributions that we received made this project possible and will provide a fantastic new facility for the people of Alton."

Cllr Angela Glass, EHDC Portfolio Holder for Regulation & Enforcement, which includes Planning, said: “The government has set very high housing targets for East Hampshire, and that will particularly affect areas outside the South Downs National Park. 

“With increasing numbers of homes we need to direct developer contributions towards improving key local infrastructure, and health provision is a vital part of that. 

“This is exactly what developer contributions are for and as more homes are built in the district we will be able to gather more contributions to fund further facilities. 

“It’s fantastic that Alton Dental in Anstey Road had the opportunity to expand its practices and take on more NHS patients. We are lucky to have an NHS training practice in Alton that is able to do this. My thanks to Hardeep and his team for delivering this expansion.” 

Cllr Annette Eyre, Town Mayor, said: “Alton Town Council is pleased to have been able to support the expansion of NHS dental provision in the town” 

For more information about Developer Contributions and how organisations can apply for funding, visit our website.

Find out more about funding from developer contributions