It was a battle that pitted a millionaire curry restaurant owner against villagers in the heart of the Loch Lomond national park.
It was a battle that pitted a millionaire curry restaurant owner against villagers in the heart of the Loch Lomond national park.
But now campaigners have welcomed a decision to refuse an application for a new pharmacy which they fear would have jeopardised the survival of a rural GP surgery.
Doctors said the future of Drymen Health Centre would have been at risk if Apple Pharmacies, run by Sanjay Majhu, had been granted permission to convert a disused outdoor-clothes store in the village into a branch of the chain. Mr Majhu also heads Harlequin Leisure Group, owner of the Ashoka chain of restaurants in Glasgow.
Around 800 people signed a petition against the application and scores of objections were submitted to the health board.
After considering the application, NHS Forth Valley's Pharmacy Practices Committee said a new pharmacy contract was "not necessary or desirable to secure the adequate provision of pharmaceutical services".
Apple Pharmacies has 21 days to lodge an appeal with the health board.
Lorraine McLauchlan, practice manager of Drymen Health Centre, said: "We are very happy with the result, but we are aware that there is an appeal process."
In April The Herald revealed plans by Mr Majhu and his colleagues Neeraj Salwan and Harminder Shergill to open the village pharmacy.
The plans sparked widespread opposition in the community, which has one of the 130 rural practices in Scotland permitted to dispense medication. It was feared that if the application went ahead, the right to dispense medication would likely be removed from the Drymen surgery and this would lead to a significant drop in income.
At the time, Dr Kyle Lifson, a partner at the Drymen Health Centre, warned that the practice would have to be reduced from two GPs to one. The profit margin from the pharmacy is about 34%, while the profit on general medical services on offer is around 10%. He said: "If we lost the dispensing service, the centre would no longer be viable to run. There would be a significant risk that the surgery would be unable to continue in its present form."
A petition lodged with the Scottish Parliament in December called for a review of legislation to "ensure the continuance of general practitioner dispensing practices in instances where commercial practices apply to operate in the same local area" after an application for a pharmacy in Leuchars was submitted.
New regulations which came into force on Wednesday stipulate that when a new application for a pharmacy is made, health boards must take steps to consult the general public. A review of the process of pharmacy applications has also been announced. But Dr Richard Simpson, Labour health spokesman, said that if Apple Pharmacies were to appeal the decision, the appeal should also be subject to public consultation.
He said: "I'm pleased that it has been rejected, from the practice's point of view. But if it does go to appeal I would hope that the appeal committee will carry out a proper public consultation on this. In any reconsideration the potential effects on the practice will require proper examination."
Bruce Crawford, SNP MSP for Stirling, said the decision to reject the application was "good news for the people of Drymen and the local dispensing GP surgery". He said: "I congratulate the community of Drymen, which pulled together to make its views known and its voice heard."
A spokesman for NHS Forth Valley said: "The Pharmacy Practices Committee agreed that a new pharmacy contract in the neighbourhood of Drymen was not necessary or desirable to secure the adequate provision of pharmaceutical services."
