Review of June in Cirencester by Roz Savage MP

I have been incredibly busy in Cirencester, and I want to share some of what I have been doing in and for the town.

The clearest thread running through it was Cirencester Hospital. Only a few weeks ago, I was out in town for our Hospital Action Day, gathering petition signatures at the Hare at Brewery Arts. The response from residents was striking – people stopped, signed, and wanted to talk. The feeling I kept hearing was the same: this hospital has already lost so much over the decades, and the idea of losing the daytime operating theatre – even temporarily – feels like one step too many.

That sense was sharpened for me by a meeting I had earlier in the month with Dr Anton Borg, who spent 40 years as a GP and hospital doctor in Cirencester before retiring in 2023. His account of what the hospital has lost over that time, from a busy district general with A&E, maternity, surgery, and acute medicine, to its current much-reduced role was both informative and sobering. He spoke with sadness rather than anger, which made it land harder. I also met with the Integrated Care Board to press them directly on which services are guaranteed to remain, and to demand a proper public consultation before any permanent changes are made. That conversation will continue.

To wrap up work around health in Cirencester, I delivered our petition to number 10 Downing Street which was seeking assurances that NHS services across the Cotswolds will be protected moving forward. It’s not enough to stand by and let our public services be chipped away at. The amount of hard work so many of you put in by helping to collect signatures was truly inspiring and finally delivering the petition felt incredibly rewarding.

Alongside the hospital work, May brought two moments that reminded me why representing Cirencester feels like such a privilege. Recently, I walked the annual Churn Walk – twelve miles from Seven Springs along the River Churn into town – with Sarah, the Churn Project’s CEO. As patron of the Project, it was a pleasure to be there, and the walk itself, finishing at the Churn Hub on The Waterloo, was a good reminder of how much this organisation does for people in Cirencester who need support.

I also congratulated Andy Jopp on his appointment as the new Mayor of Cirencester. I look forward to working with him in the months ahead.

If you have a local concern to raise, please do come to one of my surgeries or get in touch directly.

Warm wishes,

Roz Savage MP Tel: 01285 286 160 | roz.savage.mp@parliament.uk

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