NHS ‘did not raise rent’ during Rodericks Chard House Dental’s tenancy

Rodericks Chard House Dental Practice, on 21 Leach Road, closed on April 30.

The Chard and Ilminster News was made aware of rumours regarding a rise in the rent of the property leased by/to the dental practice.

Both the NHS Property Services (NHSPS) and Rodericks Dental Practice have been contacted to check whether they could deny or confirm.

A spokesperson for NHS Property Services said: “NHSPS was served notice by Rodericks Chard House Dental Practice in early 2023 advising they wished to terminate the lease on the property.

“Their lease expired in early 2022, however, we had agreed that the customer could remain in occupation, whilst negotiations on their lease renewal took place.

“Following discussions, Roderick’s Chard House served notice to us in early 2023 and vacated the premises on April 30, 2023.”

The NHSPS also confirmed that Rodericks Chard House Dental Practice decided to not renew their lease following discussions; Rodericks Chard House Dental Practice did not approach NHSPS to discuss reducing their rent concession; and it did not raise or lower the rent on the property during Rodericks Chard House Dental Practice’s tenancy.

The practice had both NHS and private patients and was part of Roderick’s Dental Group.

When contacted by the Chard and Ilminster News about the closure in April, a spokesperson for Roderick’s Dental said: “The practice is sadly closing on 30th April 2023 due to circumstances outside of our control.

“We have both NHS and private patients here. Our clinicians are being moved to other practices within the group.”

The spokesperson also added that they were “in touch with our patients directly".

After gathering comments from the NHSPS, The Chard and Ilminster News contacted Rodericks Dental again to double-check the rumours explained above, and ask to comment on the NHSPS’s response, but a spokesperson said “we have no further comments”.