Hospital expands parking to address access concerns

A hospital will be expanding its public car park to address concerns about access to the site.

Bosses at Leighton Hospital in Crewe, confirmed it would extend the public car park opposite the maternity department to include the staff car park behind the occupational health services building.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MCHFT), which runs the hospital, said it would provide 56 more spaces for patients and visitors.

The spaces will be opened up for public use from Monday, while workers who previously used it will be directed to use the main staff car park.

Martin Foster, the trust's divisional director of estates and facilities, said the expansion would improve accessibility and help to reduce congestion.

"We know parking at Leighton Hospital can be frustrating for our patients, visitors and staff, which is why we considered several options to help reduce the parking pressures," he said.

"Unfortunately, due to the make-up of the current hospital site, we will never have a perfect parking solution that will suit everyone."

Leighton Hospital is set to be completely rebuilt after a bid to fund a £700m redevelopment project was given the green light in 2023.

It was later confirmed as one of the projects to not be affected by the government's review into funding commitments made by the previous administration.