A vet surgery has been approved to take over the site of a former GP in Collier Row.

A planning application was sent to Havering Council in August to change the use of a two-storey building in Chase Cross Road from a GP surgery to a vet clinic on the ground floor.

The first floor was proposed to be used as an office space.

The property was previously occupied by Chase Cross Surgery between 2009 and 2019 but that has now relocated to a different address.

A planning statement attached with the application said that the building has been vacant for about two-and-a-half years.

The site, it said, is close to other commercial units and immediately surrounded by homes.

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The new vet surgery, it revealed, will have up to three practitioners and three support staff and will care for animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs among others.

It further added that the surgery will have opening hours between 8am and 7pm on Mondays to Saturdays.

It said: “The proposal would bring this currently vacant site back into viable use.

“It would provide valuable community use and constitute sustainable development in line with the requirement of National Planning Policy Framework.”

The plans were approved by the council on September 29 with some conditions attached.

These include the requirement for the change of use to commence no later than three years of the date of permission.

A full list of these conditions and other planning documents can be found on the council’s website - https://development.havering.gov.uk/OcellaWeb/planningDetails?reference=P1218.23&from=planningSearch