PROPOSALS revealed this summer for hundreds of new parking spaces at Airedale Hospital now form part of a planning application.

The hospital has applied to locate 314 staff-only spaces on land occupied by disused prefabricated buildings to the on the north side of its site.

A statement submitted as part of the application explains the hospital currently has 1,390 parking spaces, but more are needed to cope with an increase in demand for staff, visitor, reserved, special needs, pick up or drop off and short stay parking.

David Moss, managing director of AGH Solutions, the company managing estates and facilities on behalf of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We know visiting hospital can be a stressful time and we wanted to make it as easy as possible for patients and visitors to find a space.

“Last year Airedale introduced a new car park system, which segregated staff and visitor parking, and we’re hearing from our patients and visitors that it’s now much easier for them to find a space. We introduced free parking for visits under 20 minutes, from which 36,000 patients a year benefit.

“We also increased the number of disabled spaces outside outpatients and are in the minority of hospitals that offer free parking to blue badge holders.

“There’s still pressure on staff parking at peak times which until this spring was amplified by the building of our new acute assessment unit and pathology laboratory.

“This has eased slightly, but more staff parking is required and we’ve therefore submitted an application for a car park on the site of former nursing accommodation.

“These buildings have been empty for years. The new facility will be fully asphalted, have barrier access and CCTV.

“We believe it’s unfair that some people play by the rules and pay for their parking, and others don’t, which is why we issue parking charge notices.

“We’re very clear that we issue them as a deterrent to people who deliberately flout the rules, not to catch people out. All money raised from parking is reinvested into the hospital to improve patient experience and care.

“We continue to encourage visitors and staff to travel to the hospital via other modes of transport, and support local partners such as Bradford Council in their plans to improve the transport infrastructure.”

The design and access statement forming part of the car park application explains: “The location of the proposed parking is away from existing residential properties to the eastern boundary, meaning the traffic and acoustic impact have been effectively controlled.

“The physical scale of development will be minimal as there will be no buildings constructed on the site.”