Hospital parking: Long term solution is needed

The problem of parking near Ormskirk Hospital is a long-standing one, and it is residents in areas such as Hall Brow Close, Thompson Avenue, Latham Avenue and Tower Hill who continue to bear the brunt.

Recently, the hospital announced that as of November 1, it is putting its charges up for short stay visitors and staff. So last week I wrote to the Chief Executive of the Hospital Trust to call on them to play their part in trying to find a solution.

It’s simply not good enough for the Trust to take the attitude that it’s just the highways authority’s problem. The hospital is part of the community – not a separate entity – and it has a responsibility to be a good neighbour and play its role alongside other agencies in mitigating its impact on the area.

Over the years, the Trust has sold a lot of their land off for residential development, some of which could have been used to create extra parking.

The Borough Council has recognised the need for more parking spaces in this part of Ormskirk and has actually significantly cut its charges at Derby Street car park from £10 for one hour on Mondays-Fridays to just 70p.

The Hospital Trust need to be a bit more imaginative about how they manage the situation. Through the Freedom of Information Act, I discovered that over a five year period, they raked in more than £2m income through parking charges at the Ormskirk site alone, and in excess of £3m at Southport.

That figure will keep going up now the charges have increased, but it’s no good raising charges without having a long term plan to deal with what is a long term problem for local residents living near the hospital.

Action over access issues on Tower Hill

You may remember that back in November I blogged about an access issue involving a tree on Tower Hill.

The tree’s routes had caused some damage to the pavement and, coupled with the fact the footpath is not very wide, it was forcing some pedestrians into the road, especially those in wheelchairs or parents with pushchairs.

My colleague County Councillor David Westley and I raised the issue with Lancs County Council and they have now agreed to have the tree removed and level off the footpath, so as to ensure people can get past with hindrance.

The County Council have also said they will plant a new tree at an appropriate location nearby so as to ensure there isn’t a net loss of trees in the area.

In case you were wondering what happened with the leaves on Tower Hill I blogged about in the same post, they got swept up the following week.

My thanks to County Cllr Westley and LCC for their help in this matter.

Tower Hill pavement issues

ON Saturday morning, County Councillor David Westley and I held a street surgery in the Tower Hill/Thompson Avenue area.

Among the issues raised by residents was how difficult pedestrians are finding it to pass a mature tree on the Greetby Hill end of Tower Hill.

As you can see from the picture above, the tree’s routes have caused some damage to the pavement, and along with the narrowness of the footpath, it’s very hard for pedestrians to get past it without having to walk onto the road.

County Council Westley and I have raised this with the Council and we are awaiting a response.

There was also another pavement access issue which cropped up – but this time the situation is quite straightforward.

Residents pointed out that a large amount of leaves had fallen in recent weeks, congregating on the pathway close to the Greetby Hill junction. And with the rain and people walking on them, they have rotten down quickly and making the pathway quite slippery.

Having raised this with the Borough Council, they have agreed to have the path swept ASAP.