City Planners Issue Parking Warning Following Green Light for Birmingham Dental Hospital Expansion
City planners have issued a warning over parking problems after plans to extend Birmingham Dental Hospital were given the green light.
The hospital is currently under construction on the site previously occupied by the BBC at Pebble Mill. Plans have now changed and proposals to create an extra building, which will house an anaesthetic suite, have recently been approved. The new building will take up land previously designated for parking, reducing the number of spaces by 15 and potentially contributing to difficulties for patients using the facility. There were already concerns about a lack of parking spaces and this latest move has certainly helped the situation.
Further developments in the Edgbaston area at the University of Birmingham and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital have already increased visitor numbers and the new hospital is likely to increase numbers further, creating a shortage of parking and raising concerns about the number of cars parked on residential streets.
In total the hospital will provide 241 spaces, but with 450 members of staff in addition to 650 students and patients, there is a considerable shortfall. Some local residents have already demonstrated their feelings, with one writing ‘idiot’ on a poorly parked car outside their property.
Martin Straker-Welds from the planning committee and the Labour Party said that the situation was “alarming” and quoted a former colleague, saying that Edgbaston was quickly becoming a “giant car park.” He called for the hospitals to consider running a shuttle service from the city centre to encourage patients to use public transport and make the hospital more accessible for those who do not drive.
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