Royal Derby Hospital multi-storey car park plan moves forward

The new car park would replace a large number of spaces lost to developments on the site

Council officers have recommended plans to build a five-storey car park at the Royal Derby Hospital are approved.

The 875 spaces would mainly be for visitors and patients - according to documents sent to Derby City Council.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust said the extra capacity was vital to cope with rising demand.

However, much of the car park would replace the 574 spaces recently lost to new developments on the site.

'Increased demand'

Planning documents seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service state the new car park would be built around the existing Car Park 6, which currently has almost 400 spaces.

In a supporting letter, the trust said: "Our A&E was designed for around 350 attendances per 24hr period; we are now seeing an average of 500.

"We risk crowding and safety issues if we cannot accommodate this increased demand."

The application attracted more than 20 letters of objection, with concerns expressed over air quality, increased noise, and the "overbearing and out of scale" design.

Councillors will discuss the proposals at a planning control meeting on 7 April.