Friday 12 April 2019
Work will begin next week to create extra parking at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
The project, which has planning approval, will see the creation of 81 spaces at the top end of the current Oberlands site and is expected to be completed by the end of July.
Director of Hospital Modernisation, Jan Coleman, said:
"We hope that by creating these extra spaces we will be able to reduce the current parking pressure for both staff and service users. At the same time, we are currently assessing the first report of the travel strategy to evaluate the long term changes needed to parking on the site that will be necessary when construction starts for the Modernisation Programme."
The project to extend the number of parking spaces will start by replacing the site's soak away system, which involves excavating the existing soak away, replacing it and backfilling to its original level.
One tree, that has honey fungus and was considered to be potentially hazardous, will be removed. However, the new car park will employ 'no-dig' low impact construction methods, which use gridded matting designed to avoid potential soil compaction, helping to maintain the health of adjacent trees and their root systems. There will also be additional tree planting around the site and other planting to support the pollinator project.
Health & Social Care has worked hard to preserve the environment and is grateful for the advice from the Principal Environment Services Officer, Agriculture, Countryside & Land Management Services (ACLMS).
