NORTH Swindon residents could soon have a much bigger dental surgery after an application was put in to the council.

Abbey Meads Dental Practice, currently located at the medical centre, has outgrown its premises as the area has expanded and is looking to move to a bigger site.

It has applied to build a new property adjacent to the existing building on empty land.

If the plans are given approval it will offer six consultation rooms and an archive library, as well as space for an opticians.

As well as the dental surgery, the proposal also includes four first-floor flats for employees of the surgery to live in.

The surgery was built almost 20 years ago and was initially adequate for the residents but the huge expansion in North Swindon has seen demand soar.

The land being proposed for the new centre was allocated for a health facility when the Abbey Meads Village Centre was first built.

The application submitted to the council says: “The existing dental practice has outgrown its existing premises which forms part of the Abbey Meads surgery and now needs a new building to deal with general and specialist dentistry together with some potential accommodation for staff and an archive storage area.

“There is also an established demand for a unit to house an optician within the local centre.

“It is proposed that the four first floor apartments will provide accommodation for dental surgery employees only.”

The existing medical centre has limited parking, meaning visitors often park in the Abbey Meads Village Centre.

The application outlines plans for a car park with 18 spaces which will be attached to the existing medical centre car park.

There is also hope the former Busy Bees nursery site may be brought back to life after being empty for several years.

An application was made last year to convert the building into several shops and retain a smaller unit for a nursery facility.

After some tweaking to add more car parking spaces the application has been given approval by the council and work should be able to start in the coming months.

Despite initial concerns Blunsdon Parish Council has said it is pleased the application has been put forward.

It said: “The parish council considers that the revision of the car parking layout has reduced the safety concerns, and would welcome this building being brought back into use.”