§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of car parking facilities at the new Worcestershire Royal hospital. [47591]
§ Yvette CooperI am advised that the car park requirements for the new Worcestershire hospital have been prepared by traffic consultants for the trust, using planning standards. Both Worcester city and Worcestershire county planning and highways officers have agreed the car park calculations for the site.
At a meeting on 10 January 2002 the Worcester city council planning sub committee approved the provision of 337 additional car parking spaces on the south car park 114W and this work is due for completion at the end of June 2002. This will bring the total of available spaces on site to 1,322.
In the meantime, I am advised that the trust has negotiated with the new owners of the Ronkswood site to allow staff to park there until September 2002, freeing up car parking spaces for visitors. Two mini buses run to and from Ronkswood and various points around the Worcestershire Royal hospital between 6 am and 10 pm daily.