Years of "dither and delay" have hampered agreement to provide extra healthcare facilities in Leighton-Linslade

Securing improved services for the town needs to be top of the Labour government’s agenda, according to Liberal Democrat Leighton Linslade South councillor Emma Holland-Lindsay.

Presenting a motion to a full Central Bedfordshire Council meeting, she criticised BLMK integrated care board (ICB) for providing no information about the long-promised outline business case for extra healthcare facilities in Leighton-Linslade, saying: “It refused to publish that business case.

“This motion brings the urgency. Residents have been waiting with years and years of broken promises. We need to act urgently.

“It calls on the leader to write to the health secretary to ask for immediate talks with the ICB and CBC about getting health facilities off the ground.

“And it wants CBC to make clear to the ICB the current situation with no clarity about what’s being proposed for our town can’t go on. This business case must be published as soon as possible.”

The health minister was asked to meet by the MP for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard (Alex Mayer) and refused, added councillor Holland-Lindsay.

“That’s the current state of affairs. I find that deeply unfortunate. Our residents have endured years of dither and delay on health facilities. We need to get this to the top of the government’s agenda.”

Independent Ampthill councillor Mark Smith confirmed council leader and Independent Potton councillor Adam Zerny “would certainly write those two letters”.

The motion explained: “This council notes the continued delay from BLMK ICB in bringing forward the long overdue outline business case for new health facilities in Leighton Buzzard.

“It congratulates the work of Leighton Linslade Health Matters in further galvanising mass public support for new healthcare facilities in the town.

“And it urges all councillors to recognise the importance of allocating £10m from last year’s capital budget to healthcare facilities, and the vital difference these funds could make to places, such as Leighton Buzzard.”

Independent Leighton Linslade West councillor Victoria Harvey warned: “It’s not the best way to get the health minister to give us money by putting in our motion that refusal to meet, especially if it’s possibly inaccurate.

“There’s a real risk of offending the one person who could provide the money. Much as I’m horrified by the state of health in Leighton Buzzard, I don’t feel that going instantly on the attack is the way to help residents.

“It might be political capital, but I think we need to put our residents before politics and that’s why I’ll be supporting this.”

Independent Leighton Linslade West councillor Steve Owen referred to CBC’s executive making “a significant decision to support the call for better healthcare facilities in Leighton Buzzard, earlier this month” and in other areas.

“The health hub programme was never given serious steam or an accompanying financial plan. So eventually that became derelict, although it’s still our formal policy. We need to acquire the full picture of health needs.”

Councillors supported the motion for the letters to be sent to the health secretary and the ICB.