RESIDENTS living in the Farington area of Leyland have been dealt a bitter blow after plans to create a local pharmacy were refused.

South Lancashire Health Authority has blocked an application to open the pharmacy on a site near the post office, in Stanifield Lane, Farington.

This is the second time that plans to create a pharmacy have been rejected by the authority.

A health authority spokesman said it supported and approved a similar application two years ago, but that its decision was over-ruled by the National Appeals Authority last July.

It felt that Leyland was adequately served by several community pharmacies which are situated near to local GP practices, and no fresh evidence had been forwarded to demonstrate a change of circumstances. Farington councillor Christine Harrison says she is furious that the pharmacy application has been rejected.

She said that while the area had benefited from two local pharmacies, one in Chapel Brow and one next to the bike shop in Stanifield Lane, but these have shut down and never been replaced.

Coun Harrison said: "I can't understand why this application has been turned down. Many people in Farington are going to be extremely disappointed by this decision.

"Residents all wanted this and we were very excited by the prospect of having a pharmacy nearby.

"Elderly residents living in Farington are going to have to continue to trek to Leyland every time.

"While some of the pharmacies in Leyland now deliver, people are still being denied a proper service because they are dependant on a pharmacy's schedule for distributing items."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.