Date set for changes to Royal Derby Hospital parking arrangements ahead of new 800-space car park

Anyone due to visit the hospital after that date should read this carefully

Changes to parking arrangements at the Royal Derby Hospital will start on Monday, October 14 and will mean visitors and patients making alternative arrangements to access hospital services. The changes are necessary to allow an 800 space five-storey car park to be constructed over the next nine months.

The new car park will be built on the site of current Car Park Six and will include 91 spaces for Blue Badge holders and also spaces equipped with electric charging points.

The different parking arrangements were announced two weeks ago but no firm date for their introduction or start of the construction work was given at the time.

A statement with the announcement said: " We are delighted to be bringing long-awaited plans for a new multi-storey car park at Royal Derby Hospital, which will help to improve access to our hospital and improve the experience of patients and visitors. Construction will begin and changes to our parking arrangements will come into effect on Monday, October 14.

In the meantime, parking on the site will be much more limited and fears have been expressed widely that the changes will create difficulties for many people using the hospital.

Major changes include:

• Some on-site patient and visitor car parks becoming short-stay only, with a maximum stay of up to 90 minutes
• Car parks four and six will be closed during construction
• Car parks two and three will be dedicated for Blue Badge holders (with no maximum stay)
• A free to use park and ride service for patients and visitors will operate from Kingsway Boulevard (just off the Kingsway Island opposite the Tilia housing development)

All other on-site car parks will be closed. A number of drop-off bays and spaces will be located around the site (with a maximum stay of 30 minutes).

People wishing to stay longer than 90 minutes will be better off using the free park and ride service. The park and ride car park service will be fully accessible and will open for public use prior to the construction of the new multi-storey car park.

A new temporary car park will be located on Kingsway Boulevard, just off the Kingsway roundabout (near the retail park). The car park and bus service will be free of charge.

The bus is fully accessible and runs approximately every 20 minutes. It stops at five points around the hospital site loop road:

• Bus stop A: main entrance
• Bus stop B: near car park two
• Bus stop C: King's Treatment Centre and A&E
• Bus stop D: Children's Hospital
• Bus stop E: maternity and gynaecology, labour ward, breast unit, cancer services

The park and ride running times are from 7.30am when the gates open and the first bus is at 8.15am. The last bus from the park and ride car park to the hospital is at 5.35pm and the last bus from the hospital to the park and ride (this bus will depart from bus stop A near the main entrance and will then call at bus stops around the site before leaving for the park and ride site) is at 5.40pm. Gates at the park and ride car park close at 6.30pm. The car park has 368 spaces.

The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB) had initially planned to start construction in the spring this year with the car park completed by April 2025. But now it is not expected to be finished before summer 2025.

Andrew Selby, UHDB director of estates and facilities, said: "The new multi-storey car park will create an additional 500 spaces for our patients and visitors at Royal Derby Hospital, directly addressing feedback from our communities about parking provision at the hospital.

"When completed, the new car park will give us extra spaces to meet the growing demand for our services, but in order to build it safely, we need to make some essential temporary changes to on-site parking and we appreciate the cooperation and patience of our local communities during the construction work."

For more information about hospital parking and alternative ways to travel to the hospital read more here.