Multi-storey car park plans for Yeovil District Hospital

PLANS to build a multi-storey car park to serve Yeovil District Hospital have been unveiled.

The future propoals have been included in documents submitted to South Somerset District Council with an initial planning application to get the ball rolling on dealing with the problems with car parking for patients, staff and visitors to the hospital in Higher Kingston.

There are plans to demolish ChevertonTower, Cheverton House, and the Caeburn and Kenwyn bungalows – which all currently stand opposite the main entrances to the hospital - and then use the land as a temporary car park.

Hospital chiefs have described the buildings as "redundant and no longer fit for purpose."

The demolition work and then subsequent car parking facilities will then allow the existing car park to be developed into a multi-storey car park which will considerably ease parking problems at the hospital – which have grown year-on-year at the hospital due to the ever-growing number of services it provides leading to increased patient, visitor and staff numbers.

A report has been compiled by Yeovil District Hospital’s NHS Foundation Trust headed by chairman Peter Wyman and chief executive Paul Mears.

The report says that the application for the temporary Cheverton car park is the first of several towards the long-term development of the hospital facilities.

“The creation of this Cheverton temporary car park will provide a total of some 157 spaces including the current allowance on the site which will then pave the way to discontinue the use of the main public car park so that it can be redeveloped,” the report said.

“This will be subject to a separate planning application which is anticipated to take the form of a multi-use car park and will include enlargement of the temporary car park due to the loss of spaces in the visitor’s car park.”

The report added: “Once increased parking is available on site the temporary car park on the Cheverton site shall be subject to a further planning application for development to what is believed to be a health campus focusing on community services.”

Hospital chiefs have said they have already carried out consultation exercises with local residents and council officers about the creation of a temporary car park on the Cheverton site in conjunction with the longer-term objectives of the hospital for a Yeovil Health Campus.

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