Leicester Royal Infirmary faces parking queue problems

Bosses at a Leicester hospital have said they are looking at solutions to long parking queues.

Visitors have complained about hour-long waits outside at Leicester Royal Infirmary leading to missed appointments.

Officials have admitted there are serious problems at peak times.

Both the hospital and city council insisted they were looking at solutions including new car parks but funding issues remained.

One way

Officials admitted the 400-space Havelock Street car park could not cope with demand, especially since a nearby private car park had temporarily closed.

Nigel Bond, head of facilities at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said land near the Leicester Tigers' stadium had planning permission for a multi-storey car park.

"We are still very interested in that but the challenge around that is the financing and it has to be the right deal for all parties involved and it has to meet everyone's needs.

"We are also consulting with private car park providers and we are developing the building strategy for the royal infirmary site and we are very conscious for the need for public parking on the site."

Patrick Kitterick, chairman of the planning committee at Leicester City Council, admitted that until a new car park was built, they were "tinkering at the edges".

"There is a lot of conflict when Jarrom Street meets Havelock Street. So we are looking at playing about with a one-way system there.

"But it is not going to solve the big problem which is the car park is heavily used at specific times and the access and exits to it are very difficult."