Sadness over hospital park and ride closure

The Park and Ride was installed on leased land at Kingsway Boulevard

Visitors have expressed sadness that a temporary park and ride service at the Royal Derby Hospital is to close next month.

The finishing touches are being made to the new £16.8m multi-storey car park at hospital which will provide hundreds of extra spaces when it opens on Monday.

But some have said they will miss the park and ride service at Kingsway Boulevard which has operated while the car park was being built.

The trust that runs the hospital says the facility was only temporary and operated from leased land needed for other uses.

The new car park will mean 500 more spaces at the hospital

The temporary car park's final day will be Friday 7 November, and Dawn Simmons, from Kilburn, told the BBC she was devastated.

"It is so, so good. We've got my father in the hospital at the moment and it's just great because you come here, you park up, you get the bus and it's hassle-free really," she said.

She is concerned the new car park will mean queues and extra cost.

"We all know hospital parking isn't cheap at the best of times, " she said.

"I've got a hood on my coat so I don't mind standing in the rain for the park and ride bus."

Dawn Simmons said the Park and Ride was very convenient

Les Mann from Mackworth was visiting the hospital with his wife Elaine. He too was full of praise for the park and ride service.

"It's handy because trying to get on the car park at the hospital is a nightmare," he said.

"I don't know whether the new multi-storey will make it any better or not. Plus, you don't have to pay (for the park and ride)," he added.

His wife also found it much more convenient than trying to park at the hospital.

"When you park, you've got to go an hour before to find a space. That's the biggest problem," she said.

"And the drop-off points by the front entrance are a nightmare."

Les and Elaine Mann say parking at the hospital can be a "nightmare"

Construction of the new car park, which will provide 500 much-needed extra spaces, has been taking place over the past year.

Jackie Marriott, the hospital trust's associate director for estates and facilities, is convinced it will make life easier for visitors.

"It's amazing to see, it will be a great facility for our patients and visitors.

"It has 91 additional spaces for blue badge holders, we will have electric charging points and it has solar panels which will support our net zero plan," she added.

Charges for long-stay parking increased during construction work but from Monday 3 November charges will revert to levels in place beforehand.

The new car park uses a barrierless system with automatic number plate recognition technology used to determine how much users need to pay.

Jackie Marriott says the car park will offer 91 spaces for Blue Badge holders

Ms Marriott said the park and ride scheme was only ever intended to be a temporary measure.

"It's not on our land, we leased it for a period of time to support the construction of the new multi-storey car park," she said.

"We do have to give the land back as it's needed for other uses," she added.

The £16.8m car park features solar panels on its roof