Following a successful bid to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) fund administered by Vale of White Horse District Council, work is set to start on refurbishing the ground floor of Wantage Community Hospital.

This follows extensive local community engagement between health and care partners and the local community to co-design improved access and functionality of the ground floor of the hospital to accommodate a wider range of health and care services, with a corresponding increase in clinic space by eight rooms.

The £950,000 funding has come from CIL Healthcare allocation, which is money collected from new building developments in the area that goes towards local infrastructure – in this case health services – that is managed and distributed by the district council.

Thanks to a long-standing agreement between commissioners at NHS Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board and the Vale of White Horse District Council, the allocation of CIL funding to health has enabled this important Wantage project to progress.

Welcoming the news, Emma Leaver, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust’s interim chief operating officer for community health services, dentistry, and primary care, said: “We are delighted to have received this funding, which makes possible the long-planned refurbishment of Wantage Community Hospital.

“We are now working with the building contractor to start work in the autumn on a phased approach to upgrading the hospital’s ground floor, with the aim that everything will be complete by Spring 2026.

“The works will not only make the hospital fit for purpose, it will allow us to increase the overall number of services offered to local people and improve access for patients, carers, and their families.

“Some of the new services coming to the community hospital will include a dedicated area for children and adolescent mental health services – something that local people wanted to see included.”

Councillor Jenny Hannaby, who chairs Wantage Town Council’s Health Committee, added: “We have been working with the local community and our NHS and local authority partners to secure a sustainable future for the hospital, and it is fantastic news that we now have the funding to start transforming its ground floor.

“Throughout the planning that has been undertaken, we have sought to ensure that the views and opinions of local people have been taken into account every step of the way.”