A LOAN to pay for a new Crediton pharmacy is expected to be agreed by Mid Devon councillors next week.

The town’s new £8 million health hub was mostly paid for by the NHS and partly funded by a loan of just over £2 million by the district council, repayable on a commercial basis.

Now the practice has approached Mid Devon for a further £240,000, repayable over 13 years, to build a new pharmacy attached to the Redlands Primary Care building on Joseph Locke Way.

Recommending the loan, a report says, by building the pharmacy, there will be “benefits to the residents of Crediton and the surrounding area.

“The council consider this an opportunity to lend funds to a suitable stakeholder that will provide a good rate of return on our money, over and above that currently achievable in the current economic conditions.”

It adds the loan is intended to be at the same commercial basis as the existing £2.175 million loan thus avoiding any state aid issues, while it has been agreed that the council’s legal advice and other associated costs will be paid for.

The report also states there will be climate change benefits, explaining that “providing a local pharmacy solution will reduce the need for residents to travel to get their medical supplies”.

Opened in October 2021, the town’s purpose-built surgery offers Crediton’s residents a much wider range of services than they were previously able to receive.

The state-of-the-art L shaped hub includes 16 clinical rooms across two floors, as well as eight video and telephone consultation booths that can be used by different clinicians.

Members of Mid Devon’s new ruling Liberal Democrat cabinet will decide whether to loan the money at a meeting on Tuesday, June 6.