Heaton residents have won a fight to save their village chemist shop.

More than 1,400 people signed a petition to safeguard Heaton Pharmacy in Highgate, which they claimed was under threat from another chemist's opening nearby.

They feared that the village chemists would be driven out of business if the new pharmacy was allowed at the Leylands Lane Medical Centre less than half a mile away.

But protesters were celebrating after finding out that their appeal had been upheld.

Pam Fisher, 49, a Heaton resident who started the campaign, said: "This is a victory for common sense and I'm sure the whole village will be delighted.

"The Highgate pharmacy is a much-needed community facility right in the centre of Heaton.

"We were overwhelmed by how much support there was for the campaign.

"We believed a new chemists would have taken trade from the village and forced elderly and disabled people to trek uphill.

"It's good to know that Heaton pharmacy will continue to serve the whole community as well as patients from the Leylands Lane medical centre."

The new pharmacy applied to relocate from its premises in Toller Lane to the Leylands Lane site but it was turned down by the Appeals Authority because it was felt that it would not serve the same neighbourhood.

Pharmacist Khuram Sheikh, who owns Heaton Pharmacy, said: "It's a wonderful decision and I want to thank all the people of Heaton and everyone else who actively supported and fully backed our appeal.

"It's not only a victory for all the chemists that appealed but also for the villagers in Heaton."

Paul Burns, appeals manager at the Family Health Services Appeals Authority, said that three appeals against the relocation of the Toller Lane chemists had been upheld and the relocation had not been granted.

"However this doesn't prohibit another chemists already in existence elsewhere from applying," he said.

Dr Brian Karet, of Leylands Lane Medical Centre, said he was disappointed that the appeal had been upheld. "There is a real need for a pharmacy at the medical centre and we're against the decision not to allow this chemists to relocate.

"We don't agree that another pharmacy at the centre would jeopardise Heaton Pharmacy's trade. We support them but feel that they serve the immediate population of Highgate."

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