Plans for new multi-storey car park at Wigan Infirmary back on the table

Planning permission was originally granted in 2020 to transform Freckleton Street car park into a three-and-a-half-storey structure with 611 spaces.

However plans were scrapped two years later due to the rising costs of building materials.

Now a new design team has been appointed by the hospital trust to refresh the scheme and help alleviate hospital-related parking pressures.

The new proposals have been reduced in size and would have a capacity of 356 spaces with 64 of those specifically reserved for staff on the ground floor.

On-street residential parking would not be affected.

Because of the reduced size of the new car park, a decision has been taken to continue using the Mesnes Terrace multi-storey in Wigan town centre for hospital staff who park up there and then take a shuttle bus to work.

Had the first hospital multi-storey been built, then the Mesnes Terrace arrangement would have ended.

An application for the revised proposals is set to be submitted to Wigan Council later this year.

Should they be approved work could begin in winter 2024.

Residents are also invited to an exhibition day at the WWL Education Centre and Library on Clifton Street on May 16 from 3pm to 7pm where people can review the drawings, ask questions and offer any feedback.

Some locals objected to the original plan, not least because of fears of the car park overlooking their homes. However there has long been a shortage of parking spaces for both staff and visitors at the Wigan Infirmary site.

Director of Strategy and Planning, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) Richard Mundon said: “In order to alleviate hospital-related parking pressures in our community, a new design team has been appointed to review previously granted planning permission for a multi-storey car park (MSCP) at Freckleton Street.

“This new MSCP proposal will develop new solutions to address existing parking pressures at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary and is more financially sustainable compared with the previously approved version, enabling the Trust to proceed with the development.

“During the development of this new project, a comprehensive review was conducted incorporating feedback from residents and stakeholders received during the previous application process. This feedback highlighted areas where adjustments could be made to better integrate into its surrounding environment.

“Should planning permission be permitted, work on the new MSCP will begin in Winter 2024 and will be part of an 18-month long wider car parking project across the Trust to provide a much more improved, fair, and equitable car parking solution for all.

“We would encourage local residents of the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary and Freckleton Street car park to attend an exhibition day to view draft drawings and offer an opportunity to comment on the proposals.”