Temporary car park for hospital

A TEMPORARY car park will be built at Hillingdon Hospital to ease queuing chaos, after councillors gave the go ahead.

The development will add 89 spaces to the existing car park’s 390 spots and could be completed by summer 2015.

David Searle, director of strategy and business development at the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Trust, welcomed the decision. He said: “The additional parking will help ease congestion on Pield Health Road during peak hours and provide more space for the public.”

The hospital’s current car park is shared between staff and visitors, who often have to fight for space, causing morning tailbacks.

The temporary car park will be built above the existing one, with separate areas for the two sets of drivers. It will remain for the next five years, while bosses consider a more permanent arrangement.

Planning officials granted permission for the development on Tuesday, December 9, subject to completion of a legal agreement requiring the hospital to produce an updated travel plan.

A council spokesperson said the decision followed a public consultation in which 95 per cent of respondents supported the application. However, Community Voice, which monitors NHS services in North West London and South West Hertfordshire, has previously said the plans do not go far enough.