Proposal for new dental practice at Crown Community Centre

The proposal, focusing on the Crown Community Centre on Quay Road, is for the change of use of part of the ground floor and first floor building from offices to a dental practice, along with improvements to the building and associated landscaping.

Bridlington has been described as a ‘dental desert’ due to the lack of practices in the town, and this proposal could deliver ‘approximately 1,700 appointments per week of which around 840 will be NHS patients’.

Design and Access Statement for the Bridlington Live Well Campus by P+HS Architects, on behalf of the proposal, said: “This planning application focuses on Crown Buildings, which is currently leased to the HEY Smile Foundation under a ‘meanwhile use’ agreement.

“This project involves bringing together numerous Voluntary Community and Social Enterprises (VCSE), and two relevant private sector businesses, under one roof (the ‘Crown Community’) to provide health and wellbeing support and services to the residents of Bridlington.

“This success has attracted My Dentist to Crown Buildings. They would like to host 17 surgeries in Crown (some to act as training surgeries) with the possibility of some audiology work also being offered. This would transform dental care in Bridlington.

“Currently, My Dentist delivers six surgeries a week, with approximately 450 (mostly private) appointments per week. My Dentist need to move to deliver their NHS contract. From Crown Buildings My Dentist will be able to deliver approximately 1,700 appointments per week of which around 840 will be NHS patients.

A year ago, Bridlington’s lack of dentists was so extreme that it became newsworthy: Bridlington: Town of 35,000 down to just one NHS dentist – BBC News. It was also one of the key headlines in Bridlington’s Health Strategy Survey 2024.

“Dental care delivers far-reaching benefits that extend well beyond oral health, contributing significantly to public health, wellbeing, and economic productivity.

“Furthermore, it is intended that Crown Buildings will become the heart of a Live Well Campus, which will also include Bridlington Town Hall and the Medical Centre.

“These plans therefore include, with the GP practice’s support, paths between the medical centre and Crown Buildings to encourage residents to move from one to the other and ensure they are able to get holistic support as well as improved lighting across the site and improved landscaping.”

To find out more about the application and read the full design and access statement go to the ERYC planning portal and search for 25/03196/REG3.