New hospital car park opens with 1,600 staff spaces

The car park has 1,680 spaces for staff

Hospital staff will no longer have to park a mile away from their workplace thanks to a new five-storey facility next to Royal Stoke that officially opened on Wednesday.

The car park, built on the former Grindley Hill Court site on Hilton Road, has 1,680 spaces for staff, including 84 for electric vehicles, under a project costing £32m.

The former North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary and Central Outpatients Department sites have been used as parking areas for staff in recent years.

The car park, available for staff to use from 7 May, paves the way for the redevelopment of the former infirmary site, which opened in 1869.

Services moved to the Royal Stoke site more than a decade ago, with the old Royal Infirmary buildings, which became a target for urban explorers, since demolished.

Residents in the Hartshill and Penkhull areas have faced parking and congestion issues over several years in their streets.

Chief executive Tracy Bullock, who opened the car park, said a "huge thank you to residents for your patience"

The outgoing chief executive of University Hospitals of North Staffordshire NHS Trust, Tracy Bullock, said the car park would "make a huge difference" to staff who would not have to park on the infirmary site and walk or wait for transport.

Mike Allen, from Penkhull Residents’ Association, said: "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."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

The new facility will open to staff from 7 May