THE urgent need to help the NHS tackle Covid-related backlogs outweigh any concerns over a planned temporary theatre unit in York, say city council planning chiefs.

Their support for the scheme at the Clifton Park Treatment Centre in Bluebeck Drive comes as members of the council planning committee are due to determine the application on Thursday.

Ramsey Healthcare seek to create the operating theatre and extra parking in an NHS-funded scheme which “seeks to reduce patient waiting lists resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

If approved, the new clinic would be modular and link through to the existing building, with parking created to the north.

A report by council planning staff said Rawcliffe Parish Council opposed the scheme, due to loss of amenity space and impact on local dog walkers and residents from the car park development.

“The Parish Council consider that the scheme with new high galvanised fence looks unsightly,” it said.

Three letters of objection also raised concerns over work already starting on the site, consultation with nearby residents not taking place, and insufficient screening of the car park.

However, planning chiefs noted a letter of support received from the chief executive of York NHS Trust outlining “the urgent need for the facility to deal with backlogs of patients waiting for surgery.”

Their report said the proposed theatre building would have little visual impact but the car parking would bring development into an open space. But people had no formal rights of way and the proposed fencing was not overly prominent and is appropriate.

The proposed car parking (71 instead of the current 54) was an over-provision of one, but not significant considering the location and officers were aware work has started on this.

Their report continued: “The proposal has solely been generated as a result of demand from the NHS due to a backlog of operations resulting from the Covid 19 pandemic. Clifton Park Hospital has a shortage of operating theatre space and its viability as a continuing health care provider is at risk if more cannot be provided. The hospital has been used much more by the NHS recently and this has heightened the demand for short-term residential health care on site.

“The new building will provide for the vast majority of orthopaedic elective surgery in the city with the remaining capacity being used to create additional day case capacity for urology patients. The theatre will enable the NHS Trust to protective surgical elective capacity from Covid-19 surges and winter pressures.”

The report recommended the approval last three years, after which the site be restored to what it was before.

It also said the urgency and need of the extra theatre capacity to reduce NHS waiting lists from Covid-19 outweighed any harm through “through inappropriateness, and other identified harm” so application was recommended for conditional approval.