A temporary pharmacy could be set up in a shipping container in Warminster to address an ‘immediate need’ for services in the area while a permanent facility is developed.

The proposal comes after local councillors earlier this year called for urgent action to address a pharmacy ‘crisis’ in the area.

A planning application for a temporary facility by Povey Properties is under consultation by Wiltshire Council, with a decision likely to be made in January.

Under the proposal, a pharmacy and welfare unit would be set up in a repurposed shipping container on Broadway, Warminster – described as a ‘primary residential area’.

It said that due to its temporary nature it would be ‘small in scale’ but ‘suitable for accommodating pharmaceutical services and welfare facilities while keeping the footprint minimal’.

It said appropriate signage would be used to ‘ensure easy identification while maintaining a simple and professional look’.

The application states: ‘The temporary solution is part of a phased development approach, providing essential pharmaceutical services quickly while a permanent facility is being designed and constructed on the same site.

‘The proposed temporary pharmacy provides an essential service to the local community, addressing an immediate need for accessible pharmaceutical services in Warminster.’

It stressed the development aimed to ensure ‘accessibility and convenience for the local community’.

In May this year, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board was urged to take ‘urgent steps’ to secure another pharmacy in the town of Warminster amid concerns over provision.

It followed concerns that patients were spending a ‘significant time’ queuing for prescriptions and that both medicines and pharmacists were not always available.

This came after a Boots Pharmacy, which was next to a GP surgery, closed in October 2023.

In the summer, The Pharmacist mapped community pharmacy closures across England over the last five years, and uncovered a net loss of more than 1,000 bricks and mortar pharmacies since 2019.