Lambourn loses historic vet's surgery

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Once it is gone, from March 1, it will be the first time in living memory that the village has been without a dedicated small animal vet’s.
A spokesman for the company, Joe Hill, confirmed: “The decision was taken last Thursday that the Lambourn branch will close.
“I don’t think it came as a great surprise to the staff - It has been relatively unprofitable for some time. We commissioned a formal report to look at the long-term viability of the small animal business in Lambourn and it concluded there was no chance of running a profitable business for the foreseeable future.
“Lambourn won’t grow considerably in size and the population isn’t increasing. This co-incides with a national downturn in the number of pets.”
The Lambourn surgery employed six full and part time staff, including popular vet Imogen Read, who had been employed there for nearly three years.
The company, which took over the existing Lambourn vet’s surgery in 2008, continues to operate five other surgeries in Wiltshire including those in Marlborough and Swindon.
A letter has been sent to regular customers which states: “We are sorry to inform you that our Lambourn surgery will be closing for business on March 1....despite the good local support for our Lambourn branch and the concerted efforts of our team, led by Imogen, the branch remains unprofitable.
“However, despite Lambourn’s closure we are hoping to retain all of our present staff in other branches....we understand that this closure will inevitably cause some inconvenience for our clients.”
It goes on to thank clients for their custom and to encourage customers to use the other Wiltshire outlets.
One customer, villager Peter Leydon, said: “Some people are so upset, they’ve been in tears. It’s another blow for the village - there’s always been a vet’s here for as long as anyone can remember.
“It’s a particular shame because Imogen Read is a very popular vet and there was always good feedback from local people about her. Our dog lived an extra 18 months despite suffering from lymhoma, and it was thanks to her care and skill.”
He added: “There’s a large animal hospital nearby but no small animal surgery for miles now.”
Details of the other Drove outlets are available at the company’s website at www.drovevets.co.uk