Yahoo News Royal Stoke's new £32m multi-storey opens in bid to end parking misery
The opening date of a new multi-storey staff car park at Stoke-on-Trent's main hospital has been announced. NHS workers will no longer have to leave their vehicles a mile away after a huge new car park was completed next to the Royal Stoke University Hospital.
The former North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary and Central Outpatients Department sites have been used as parking areas for staff in recent years - but the temporary measure has meant a walk in all weathers or waiting for transport to the main hospital site for shifts.
Residents in the Hartshill and Penkhull areas have also faced parking and congestion issues over several years in their streets. But a more permanent solution to the parking challenge will open to staff on Tuesday, May 7.
The new £32 million five-level multi-storey has been built on the former Grindley Hill Court site on Hilton Road. It has 1,680 spaces for staff, including 84 for electric vehicles.
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The car park was officially opened by Tracy Bullock, the outgoing chief executive of University Hospitals of North Staffordshire (UHNM) NHS Trust, at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday (April 24). Invited guests, including contractors IHP, representatives from Stoke-on-Trent City council and local residents, then took a trip to the top of the 19.9m tall structure.
The opening paves the way for the redevelopment of the former Royal Infirmary site, which opened in 1869. Services moved to the Royal Stoke site more than a decade ago and the old Royal Infirmary buildings, which became a target for urban explorers, have now been demolished.
Mrs Bullock, who is due to retire from UHNM later this year, said: "I have been at UHNM for five years and I can remember having this eyesore, then called the Royal Infirmary. Lorraine (Whitehead), UHNM's director of estates, facilities and PFI) would talk to me about the risks associated with it and the opportunities for regeneration for the city.
"There were options we could have made for the business case that would have been cheap as chips. But my view was if we are doing this, we are going to do it properly and we are going to get this right.
"There a lot of people who have worked together to bring this project in not only on time but on budget. I think that's about good management and there are a lot of thank yous I can give.
"Thank you for bearing with us on this journey and getting us to this position. And a huge thank-you to residents for your patience - without your engagement and willingness to work with us we wouldn't have been able to do this.
"It will make a huge difference to our staff who won't have to park on the Royal Infirmary site and walk in all weathers to the hospital site, or wait for transport to get here. This will also be a huge help to our patients and visitors if you have staff in the right place at the right time."
Mrs Whitehead said the trust had been looking for several years for a solution to its long-running parking issues. A number of options had been considered but ruled out due to challenges such as cost.
"I'm so proud of this project, which we have had to do in phases", she added. "It started with the demolition of the infirmary site where our parking is at the moment.
"The first step in the process was to secure the funding to deal with that. The second step was to acquire the land formerly owned by Honeycomb Housing and agree the funding for the acquisition.
"The third step was to secure the funding for the car park. And the fourth step will be to sell the old infirmary site.
"Residents have been incredibly patient for many years while we have worked towards this solution. And we have been able to make this happen with partners such as Stoke-on-Trent City Council and NHS England, who have supported us with funding.
"At the moment it's really inconvenient for staff, having to walk or get transport to work from the infirmary site. Being able to park next to the hospital is going to save them time and having to endure inclement weather conditions - everyone wants to start their day well."
Residents welcomed the opening of the new car park too. Mike Allen, from Penkhull Residents' Association, said: "Hopefully it will take parking away from the surrounding area.
"It has become an issue over the years because people are people and they park where they want to park. We hope this will alleviate it.
"The information we have had from the project has been exemplary and we have never been left in the dark about things. There were a lot of questions asked but they have been taken on board."
Fellow association member Charles Pantin said: "Before this happened there were numerous problems with parking on St Christopher Avenue and along Harpfield Road. It was all ad hoc arrangements and hopefully this is a permanent solution."
