Hospital car park plan 'just wrong', say campaigners

Campaigners say proposals put forward by an NHS trust to build a car park on a piece of public park is "just the wrong thing to be doing".

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust wants to build a 40-space staff car park for Victoria Infirmary, in Northwich, on land forming part of Verdin Park.

More than 1,300 people have signed a petition against the plans, calling for alternative venues to be considered.

The trust said the car park would only take over 2% of the total park area, and claimed it was "the only viable option".

Verdin Park, which adjoins Victoria Infirmary, was gifted to the town by local salt manufacturer and MP Richard Verdin, and is now owned by Northwich Town Council.

Local resident Richard George, who started the petition, told BBC Politics North West the hospital was "a great asset" to the town, but residents were concerned about the car park plans.

"The park is wonderful," he said. "The idea of building on the park is just the wrong thing to be doing."

Mr George said he would like to see the trust consider other sites, and questioned whether repurposing parkland for other uses would ultimately stop with the hospital car park.

"They always seem to say it'll only be a little bit, but what they'll be doing is setting a precedent," he said.

He said he believed current councillors were "an honourable bunch", but cautioned that once a precedent was set, "you can't stop it".

The town council - which owns the park - have vowed it would lease only the stipulated area of land to the trust.

Councillor Kate Cernik said the concession to the NHS was a "compromise", and the authority had set definitive "red lines" around the land being repurposed as a car park - including no loss of trees and free use of the parking area for residents on weekends.

"It's a balancing act," she said.

"In an ideal world, it would be great if we didn't have to take a small chunk of the park for a car park - but it's about checks and balances," she said.

"We're responsible for everybody in the town - come and work with us, come and look at the plans," she urged.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said a multi-storey car park had initially been considered, but it was deemed not cost-effective and would have required significant disruption during construction.

The trust said it looked at ten different sites locally for the car park, but only Verdin Park was found to be a "feasible option", in terms of location, cost and building time.

Russ Favager, a director at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said there had always been a "heavy demand" for car parking at the site, a demand which was exacerbated by a new surgical centre which opened in July.

The centre is expected to treat around 12,000 patients each year, and Mr Favager said the trust had "maximised" all existing car parking as part of the application process.

"I understand where people are coming from, but this is really the only viable option we've got to solve the car parking issue," he said, while acknowledging local residents' concerns.

If the proposal receives planning permission, the car park could be open next summer.

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