A pharmacist has won a fight to reopen his business and provide a vital service to his community, writes Alison Bartlett.

Oxford City Council's planning committee yesterday gave dispensing chemist Kirit Patel the go-ahead to open a pharmacy at 190 Abingdon Road.

Residents living in south Oxford have been without a chemist after Mr Patel, from Milton Keynes, closed his business when the lease at 68 Abingdon Road, Oxford, expired in May.

A planning application to convert 190 Abingdon Road into a pharmacy was deferred by the planning committee in June because the plan contravened local planning policies. Some residents were worried that a pharmacy opening late on a rota basis could result in noise and disturbance.

After the committee approved his application, Mr Patel said: "I am furious that the committee has taken so long to make a decision about a service essential to the local community."

Cllr Deborah Glass welcomed the decision. She said: "The closure of the chemist affects people enormously. One of the things south Oxford lacks is shops and a chemist is particularly important as there are a number of elderly people living in the area. Resident Ivor Harold, 77, from Kineton Road said: "There has been a chemist at 68 Abingdon Road since 1925.