Now an urgent letter is to be sent to the Government's health supremo voicing their concerns that the super-surgeries may harm healthcare in the city.

The move came during a meeting of Peterborough City Council, when Conservative councillor Matthew Dalton hit out at plans that he said would "railroad" through polyclinics across the country.

Members agreed council leader John Peach should write to the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, to highlight their concerns.

Under the government's £250 million plan to improve health services, every English Primary Care Trust (PCT) will have its own GP-led polyclinic.

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But Cllr Dalton said: "Ministers want to replace local GPs' surgeries with impersonal super-surgeries, meaning 1,700 family doctors could be closed down – including eight in the Peterborough area.

"This appears to be centralisation for the sake of centralisation and pursuing a 'one size fits all' approach, regardless of local circumstances.

"We believe any cuts to GP services will impact on more deprived areas, will mean a significant increase in inconvenience for patients, and will inevitably lead to the breaking down of the valued link between patients and their family doctor."

Liberal democrat councillor Nick Sandford said polyclinics would not be appropriate for every part of the country, but some inner-city areas could benefit.

He said: "Despite a record amount of investment in health services and GP services, and a massive increase in GP salaries, health outcomes in Peterborough are significantly worse than in the rest of the UK."

Earlier this month, minister Lord Darzi said no practices would be forced to shut due to the super-surgeries, which will house doctors and other medical staff under one roof.

And a spokeswoman for Peterborough PCT said today: "Under the PCT's proposals for Equitable Access to Primary Medical Care (Darzi Review), there are no plans to close down family surgeries and replace them with polyclinics."