A FORMER GP surgery looks set to be converted into a café after plans following failed attempts to build flats on the site.

The Gore Surgery in Basildon shut its doors to the public in May of 2021 – with services moved to the nearby George Hurd Centre a month later.

The GP still operates from the community centre, where it will remain for the forseeable future, with services split between the Ballards Walk Surgery about one mile west.

Plans have been submitted to Basildon council to covert the old building at 69 The Gore into a café - but concenrs remain over a need for a permanent GP building in the area.

“It is very disappointing to see the surgery site being turned into a cafe and the general sentiment from residents is that they don't need another cafe, they need better medical provisions,” said ward councillor and new Labour group leader Maryam Yaqub.

“Whilst a cafe can be a useful community resource, the whole point of temporarily moving the surgery into the George Hurd Centre, was for the landlord to knock it down and redevelop it.

“In the meantime this leaves residents using a temporary location at the George Hurd Centre with an uncertain future. Especially given that the loss of the local plan by the Conservatives could have knock on effects to the provision of any infrastructure in the town centre, including the new medical centre we were proactively working on.”

She added: “However, I must stress that the new owners of the cafe are not responsible for this current predicament and I do wish them the very best.”

Planning documents reveal proposals to revamp the building into an eight-table café, serving hot food and drinks.

If approved, the café would be open from 8am to 10pm during the week and 9am to 9pm on weekends.

Multiple previous bids to convert the premises into homes have failed to materialise.

In July of last year, plans to bulldoze the former surgery to make way for a four-storey building with nine flats were withdrawn before going in front of the planning committee.

Prior to that, a bid to knockdown the building and build a four-storey building with NHS accommodation on the two lower floors – allowing The Gore surgery to stay open – and five flats on the two upper floors was refused by the council in November 2019.