interestrateripoff Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Fury-as-hospital-parking-is.6349510.jp Long-awaited plans for a £10.5 million multi-storey car park to relieve chronic parking problems around Sheffield's Northern General Hospital have been put on hold.Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, say they need to prioritise resources on patient care and do not have the money for the 950-space car park at present. The decision has angered residents in neighbouring streets choked with parked cars belonging to hospital staff and patients. Problems have arisen due to a shortage of spaces at the sprawling site in Fir Vale - and worsened when pay and display charges were extended to staff, who started parking in the surrounding area to avoid paying. The massive car park was planned for the south-east corner of the hospital site, next to Herries Road, and was first mooted several years ago. In the meantime, problems on residential streets had become so severe Sheffield Council mounted a consultation exercise costing £25,000 to decide whether to introduce permits so only people living there could park. But the idea was abandoned - with the exception of four streets - because residents were unhappy about having to pay a fee to park outside their homes. Councillors decided to put further pressure on the hospital to build the multi-storey instead. Problems in the area have included people being blocked in their drives by parked cars, and extra yellow lines had to be painted on Norwood Road because parked cars on either side of the street made it difficult for buses to pass through. Jean Shutt, a member of Norwood Tenants' and Residents' Association, said: "I'm really annoyed about the hospital's decision. There is a lot of anger and frustration around here about this - the problem affects not only our estate but Fir Vale, Firth Park and Page Hall. "The hospital trust has been dragging its heels for years. "They are the ones who caused this problem and should take responsibility to sort it out as soon as possible, whatever it costs." ....... Kevin O'Regan, Hotel Services Director at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, said: "It's with regret that due to the change in the economic climate and the need to prioritise resources on providing direct patient care we do not have the £10.5 million funding to build the multi-storey car park in the short term. "However we have not ruled this out as a option for the future." Still at least the council got to blow £25k. The last figures I saw was that STH was about £2m over budget for the last financial year, so blowing more money wasn't really going to be an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damik Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 http://www.thestar.c...g-is.6349510.jp Still at least the council got to blow £25k. The last figures I saw was that STH was about £2m over budget for the last financial year, so blowing more money wasn't really going to be an option. surely the car parks can be build by private sector with private money??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottbeard Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Still at least the council got to blow £25k. Would you rather councils implemented every plan some counicillor dreams up without researching them first? surely the car parks can be build by private sector with private money??? Only if they can make money on it by charging for parking - the problem is people feel they shouldn't have to pay for hospital parking. You can see the headlines now "Mean nasty private company charged me £200 for visiting my sick husband every day" "A spokesman for the meanies said - 'it cost us £10m to build - we need to get the money back somehow'" It's really irritating, because I bet that car park would have really improved local people's lives, but alas the money was spent back in the last decade fighting wars, bailing banks and expanding the public sector. :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartimandua51 Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I can't say I have much sympathy with the residents - given that there's no God-given right to park for free on the road outside your home, they should have grabbed the Residents Parking scheme while it was on offer. Now they've saved - what? £50pa? and have to deal with traffic chaos instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 I can't say I have much sympathy with the residents - given that there's no God-given right to park for free on the road outside your home, they should have grabbed the Residents Parking scheme while it was on offer. Now they've saved - what? £50pa? and have to deal with traffic chaos instead. Just wondering why such a modern hospital wasnt planned with car parking in mind. COlchester Gen is another example....they keep adding and adding car parks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non frog Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Just wondering why such a modern hospital wasnt planned with car parking in mind. ... it was. You only have half the story given here. Staff parking is a big big issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bricor mortis Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 it was. You only have half the story given here. Staff parking is a big big issue. And rightly so. If you have to be in for work on xmas day at 0715 in the morning theres not much point in standing at a bus stop. And if your late shift finishes at 10.00 at night do you want to be standing around at a rain swept bus stop? Not if you can help it. There are also personal safety issues as regards late finishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 it was. You only have half the story given here. Staff parking is a big big issue. yes, 6000 staff. most working 9 to 5 Id wager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lagarde's Drift Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 yes, 6000 staff. most working 9 to 5 Id wager. Yes. A large large majority. The proportion of staff who are regularly on unsociable shifts is small. Just look at any hospital car park at 0845 and 1730 and you will see it half empty. I think there is also a problem with the propensity for management to build lovely shiny hospitals which tend to be far far away from the towns they serve. I drive by Swindon "Great Western" every other week and goggle at the amount of cars parked all around it. My local hospital is moving from the city where it is a 5 minute walk away from the train & bus station, to a site 3 miles away where there are no trains, and the buses are already held up in the choking traffic. I imagine the traffic around there will get much much worse when the new hospital opens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest X-QUORK Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 This is a joke thread, right? Good one guys, for a second I thought you'd been talking about some dreary parking issue in the North of England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest happy? Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 This is a joke thread, right? Good one guys, for a second I thought you'd been talking about some dreary parking issue in the North of England. Is that the bit we avoid on the way to the Edinburgh Festival? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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