Plans for a new multi-storey car park at Stepping Hill Hospital are 'fairly advanced', according to a senior councillor, as patients and staff describe the parking situation as a 'nightmare'.
Catherine Cullen, 66, from New Mills, said she spends "so much time driving around here, just waiting for someone to come back to their car." She added: "We park in a disabled bay and there's just not enough of them. For the number of patients, there are very few of them. Often, the reason people are coming to the hospital is that they are disabled."
Parking at the Stockport hospital has been a problem for staff and patients for years, if not decades. It resurfaced last week after two drivers who had paid for tickets told the Manchester Evening News they were randomly issued with incorrect fines this summer, which they then had to fight to overturn. Scores of others responded on social media saying they had found themselves in the same situation.
Enforcement reintroduced after Covid hiatus
After a hiatus during Covid, parking enforcement was reintroduced at the site last October. Patients, staff and local residents say the situation remains a 'nightmare' - primarily due to a lack of spaces.
One staff member, speaking anonymously, said: "It's a nightmare. It's been going on for years, but it's definitely worse than it ever was. It's very expensive. And I have to come to work early to make sure I get one. When I am on late shifts, I leave the house about half an hour earlier than I need to. I've known colleagues in the past who have rung in from the car park and said, 'I'm here, I'm outside, I just can't get a space.'"
Debra King, 65, from Cheadle, who was attending a physio appointment, said: "At the time I come, it isn't too bad. But in the past, I've been driving around and around the one-way system for more than 15 minutes looking for a space. I know some people just get a taxi now because they can't face it. They've just not got enough spaces. They need to get a grip of it now. It's been going on for too long."
Residents report overspill parking problems
David Pimlott, 84, who has lived on Islington Road for 62 years, said the issue of staff using the street as a free car park had been a 'bloody pain' for more than two decades, but that 'this is the worst it's ever been.' Louise McDermott, 53, said: "We see them getting out of their cars in their uniforms. I struggle to get anywhere outside my property. I know we don't own the road, but it's making it dangerous, as people are being forced to park on the pavement and squeeze in tight together. I can understand why they do it. The hospital needs to make it easier for them to get to work."
Offerton councillor Dan Oliver, a cabinet member at Stockport Council, said the council was working with the hospital on plans for more spaces, which will 'probably include a multi-storey.' He said: "I have seen some of the plans, and I think there's a route to delivering it and a realistic chance of making it happen." He said the existing multi-storey structures were 'only intended to be temporary' and are 'due to fail in the next five years' so would 'have to come down regardless.'
MPs call for solutions
Hazel Grove MP Lisa Smart said she believes the hospital needs a second site near transport hubs in Stockport town centre. She said: "Anyone who either lives near or has ever had to go to Stepping Hill will tell you about the parking problems with the current site. I've been fighting for a new additional site for the hospital in Stockport town centre. This would not only be a practical solution to how to upgrade the facilities to make it a modern, patient-friendly site – which is desperately needed with the £138 million repairs backlog – but it would also enable far more people to use the town centre transport hub to get to the hospital."
Stockport MP Navendu Mishra said he didn't believe there was a 'single solution.' He said: "Parking at Stepping Hill Hospital has been a longstanding source of frustration for patients, visitors, staff, and local residents. There is no single solution, but the Trust and Stockport Council should work together to improve the situation, looking at parking capacity, improving public transport links, and ensuring any parking enforcement system is fair, transparent, and works properly."
The trust said in a statement: "Car parking is an ongoing challenge for hospital trusts both regionally and nationally, including here in Stockport. Our parking charges are in line with other NHS trusts across Greater Manchester. In recent months we have made additional areas available on the hospital site, which has helped to free up more spaces for both staff and patients. We are currently exploring other options, one of which is a new multi-storey car park on the hospital site. We hope to be able to move forward with this to make further space available and reduce pressure on staff, patients, visitors and our neighbours."
