THERE could be an end to the parking misery for drivers visiting Royal Bournemouth Hospital under plans to make more than 400 extra spaces available to the public.

The hospital has been forbidden from using all the parking spaces on its site because of a planning condition that says extra medical facilities must be completed first.

The rule means that many of the spaces in its new multi-storey car park currently have to remain empty while frustrated drivers circle the site looking for a space.

The hospital is already using more spaces than the 1,513 agreed under the planning permission and wants to raise that number to 1,945, allowing it to fully open its multi-storey car park.

Its multi-storey was approved in 2008 on the understanding that a new haematology, oncology and stroke centre would be built, with other facilities to follow later. The hospital now says those facilities will be built later than planned, with no firm timetable, and it wants to start using the spaces.

A report to Bournemouth Borough Council’s planning committee says many of the planned facilities have already been accommodated in the main hospital, resulting in extra staff, visitors and patients. Restricting the hospital to 1,513 spaces would lead to “widespread parking” outside approved areas, the report says.

A report by Bournemouth council’s principal planning officer Barry Carse says: “Although the construction of the new medical facilities... has not taken place, interim measures have been put in place to accommodate many of these facilities and services within the existing hospital.

“This has resulted in additional staff, visitors and patients at similar levels to those anticipated when the outline application was first submitted in 2004.”

The report points out that staffing levels, services and population of catchment area had all increased.

The report has been welcomed by Littledown councillor Nick King who said parking is a huge issue in the area with overflow from the hospital and businesses in the area leading to parking difficulties in residential roads.

“Anything that would provide more parking in the area would be welcome” said Cllr King. “Yellow lines have been put in in some areas but it just pushes the problem to other roads.”

Hospital communications officer Melanie Croydon said the Trust hopes to alter car park layouts, realign access roads and fully open the multi-storey. She added: “The Trust is committed to promoting and encouraging the most sustainable form of transport to staff wherever possible. Travel schemes are in place, for example, there are secure cycle shelters and changing facilities for all staff.”

Councillors will decide on the applications on Monday January 16.

Your views on the current restrictions

LUKE Watkins, a 25-year-old sports centre duty manager from Bournemouth, said: “I am in and out of this hospital with knee injuries and I have no idea how long an appointment is going to take because of the parking.”

ALEX Dyer, 25 and unemployed from Ferndown, said: “I normally park somewhere else because this car park is often full and it’s expensive. I don’t think anyone should have to pay to park at a hospital and there should definitely be more spaces.”

PETER Bass, 65, brought his friend from Leicester to complete a course of treatment at the hospital. He said: “We arrived at 8.30am so I thought it would be fine but it wasn’t – I was driving round and round for at least 10 minutes and we were worried we were going to be late.”

KERRY Osborne, a 39-year-old building society worker from Broadstone said: “We were lucky today because someone moved just as we get here but the lady behind us at the machine said she had been driving around for ages. The car park needs to be bigger.”

IVERNA Braniff, 64, from Bournemouth, said: “I come here quite often and whether or not I can get a space depends on the time of day. “A lot of people park in Tesco or the Littledown because there’s no room here so it would be much better if they opened the rest of the car park.”

GARDENER Ian Lewin, 59, from Bournemouth said: “What’s the point of having a muti-storey if you can’t use it? Every time I come here I have to drive round and round before I can find a space.”