Grindley Hill Court: FAQs

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What will the new car park look like?

Consideration for neighbouring land and property has been at the forefront of design. The car park will be a modern and well-maintained building with trees and bushes that help to ensure it blends into the local environment.

Dark green and grey colours will be used because they were considered to blend best with local surroundings.

When will the car park be built?

Construction of the new park has now begun, with works due to be complete in early May 2024.

What has happened to the people – including hospital doctors and nurses – who lived in Grindley Hill Court?

Most of the residents at Grindley Hill Court were NHS employees working at the hospital on a short term-basis - for example, locum doctors. The Trust assisted residents in their search for alternative housing arrangements and offered a range of support packages to our staff, including arrangements for the removal of household belongings. We are pleased to report that all Grindley Hill Court residents were able to find new accommodation.

Why are we building a car park? Shouldn’t we encourage people to travel by public transport?

We certainly do encourage people to travel into work by public transport whenever possible but some people (such as doctors and nurses) need to work at more than one location and need to travel by car between different locations. It’s also important to remember that this car park is not intended to significantly increase the amount of staff parking but simply to relocate it from the Royal Infirmary site and the Central Outpatients Department site so those sites can be freed up for much-needed housing.

How will construction works be managed?

The building project will be professionally managed, comply with all good operating standards and will be registered with and audited by the Considerate Contractors scheme.

Throughout work, contractors will operate a local residents hotline number and also arrange local residents’ drop-in sessions to provide residents with an opportunity to speak directly with site management in case any issues should arise.

Site operations will also be limited to local authority standard operating periods (Monday – Friday – 8am – 6pm, Saturday – 8am – 1pm, no work on Sundays or bank holidays). Dust and noise levels will also be consistently monitored at the site perimeter so as not to disrupt local residents.

Other measures taken to mitigate disruption would include:

  • Using rotary drill piling solution rather than impact hammers to limit noise and vibration
  • Using electric machinery wherever possible to reduce the creation of fumes.
  • Any non-electrical machinery would be maintained and serviced properly to reduce the creation of fumes
  • Parking all large mechanical machinery on the site, as far away from local residents and NHS facilities as possible
  • Site perimeter hoarding to offer security and create a noise and dust barrier
  • Local litter picks to ensure no construction related litter accumulates in the locality
  • Controlling access to the site for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and construction traffic through a delivery schedule to ensure no HGV’s are parked or left waiting on the main highway
  • Controlling and monitoring site access by a trained works traffic marshal.

Has the impact of air and light pollution been considered?

Contractors will be working with the local authority to consider the impact work will have on the local environment.

The requirement to provide free air movement within the car park will be met in order to ensure sufficient ventilation for users. There will also be a high number of electric-vehicle charging points in the car park.

The floors of the car park would have low-level lighting when not in use and only become fully lit when sensors detect activity on that specific level.

A landscaping strategy also means that the plants, shrubs, and trees growing alongside the car park would create a type of ‘screening zone’ for residents living close by and a landscape scheme will address biodiversity enhancement.

Where will contractors and site personnel park their vehicles during their working day?

During the early stages of work, contractors will park within the Grindley Hill Court site. As space becomes restricted on-site, the contractor will have some staff parking on the Old Infirmary site, who will then shuttle themselves to Grindley Hill Court. The contractors have been instructed not to park on local streets or the main hospital site.

Will a new car park mean a change in traffic levels?

The Trust has been working with the local planning authority and the Stoke-on-Trent highways team to ensure that traffic flow to the car park would not be disruptive. The Trust will also use the appropriate signage to inform staff of the car park’s precise location, and all patients will still be directed to the main site. It’s important to remember that this will be a staff car park with the same members of staff regularly using it.

Additionally, the new car park will minimise the current footfall of staff walking along Thornburrow Drive at the beginning and end of each day to access current car parking facilites.

Won’t this affect the use of the hospital helipad?

No. We are in discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority and we will, of course, ensure there is nothing about this project which adversely affects the operation of the hospital helipad.

Won’t we have massive queues when the car park barrier breaks down?

No. There will not be a physical car park barrier. Access and parking will be fully controlled by CCTV cameras and Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology.

Will there be enough spaces in the new car park to accommodate all the staff parking on the sites the NHS is now vacating?

Yes, all existing car parking spaces lost as a result of offering the COPD and Infirmary land for prospective residential development will be displaced in full to the new car park.

We need more homes. Should we really be replacing homes at Grindley Hill Court with a car park?

The development of a car park on the Grindley Hill Court site is intended to enable the NHS to vacate and then dispose of the Infirmary site and the Central Outpatient Department. The NHS Trust has outline planning permission for the building of new homes on these sites and developing the new car park will enable the regeneration of this part of Stoke and the building of many more new homes.

Honeycomb Group, who previously owned Grindley Hill Court, also intends to re-invest the £5.35m receipt from the sale of Grindley Hill Court into the development of new homes in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire. This investment will also likely secure additional Homes England Grant funding of around £1.5m, enabling the development of around 40 family homes for affordable rent

Why not build the car park underground?

Building a car park underground is much more damaging to the environment than building above ground. The NHS has a duty to undertake development projects with carbon emissions and public disruption kept as low as possible.

Why not build the car park on the nearby old Ambulance Station site?

The NHS Trust explored this possibility but the site is much smaller than the Grindley Hill Court site and if we were to accommodate the necessary number of parking spaces (1680) we would have had to build a much taller car park which would not have blended well into the local environment.

What will be the impact of car headlights on neighbouring properties?

Illuminations from headlights should not impact residents living in neighbouring properties.

Headlights vary between manufacturers, and there is not a prescribed distance for a headlight to illuminate in front of a vehicle but dipped headlights, for example, are designed to illuminate the road directly in front of the car for around 40 to 50 metres.

The car park façade is between 45 to 48 metres away from the front elevations of the housing opposite on Hilton Road. The houses are therefore at the limit of the distance a headlight is likely to reach, and at a diminished illuminance, particularly as the headlight is directed towards the road and not directly ahead. There is also additional screening from retaining walls as the car park ground floor is excavated into the south-east corner of the site.

Landscaped planting to the site boundary and the decorative fins that clad the car park elevations also provide screening. Moreover, Hilton Road is already being illuminated by street lighting and is a main highway that has allocated parking along its length, which reduces visibility across Hilton Road at street level further.

How has the Trust engaged with local residents and stakeholders on the matter?

A period of consultation took place in the pre-application period and the NHS offered stakeholders a number of ways to make their views known. The public could submit their observations or questions on the Trust’s dedicated engagement website and could hear directly from the project team at one of three live webinars.

The consultation was advertised using leaflet drops kindly delivered across the community by the Trust’s two local ward councillors, Councillor Dean Richardson and Councillor Shaun Pender.

The Trust also chairs a monthly Project STAR community group, whose membership consists of local councillors and residents’ association chairs.

The Trust will continue to engage with residents throughout the demolition and development phases and ensure any query or observations from members of the public are responded to in a timely manner from a member of the Project STAR and construction teams. Local residents will be communicated with on a regular basis, before and during commencement of work on the Grindley Hill Court site.

How many entrances and exits will the car park have?

There will only be one junction for the new car park at Grindley Hill Court, which leads directly onto Hilton Road and will serve as the entrance and exit. To ensure minimal queuing for staff, specialist traffic modelling was undertaken throughout the design process to select the route and location of the exit barriers. The position of the entrance and exit is considered to cause the least disruption possible for the site’s location.


What will the new car park look like?

Consideration for neighbouring land and property has been at the forefront of design. The car park will be a modern and well-maintained building with trees and bushes that help to ensure it blends into the local environment.

Dark green and grey colours will be used because they were considered to blend best with local surroundings.

When will the car park be built?

Construction of the new park has now begun, with works due to be complete in early May 2024.

What has happened to the people – including hospital doctors and nurses – who lived in Grindley Hill Court?

Most of the residents at Grindley Hill Court were NHS employees working at the hospital on a short term-basis - for example, locum doctors. The Trust assisted residents in their search for alternative housing arrangements and offered a range of support packages to our staff, including arrangements for the removal of household belongings. We are pleased to report that all Grindley Hill Court residents were able to find new accommodation.

Why are we building a car park? Shouldn’t we encourage people to travel by public transport?

We certainly do encourage people to travel into work by public transport whenever possible but some people (such as doctors and nurses) need to work at more than one location and need to travel by car between different locations. It’s also important to remember that this car park is not intended to significantly increase the amount of staff parking but simply to relocate it from the Royal Infirmary site and the Central Outpatients Department site so those sites can be freed up for much-needed housing.

How will construction works be managed?

The building project will be professionally managed, comply with all good operating standards and will be registered with and audited by the Considerate Contractors scheme.

Throughout work, contractors will operate a local residents hotline number and also arrange local residents’ drop-in sessions to provide residents with an opportunity to speak directly with site management in case any issues should arise.

Site operations will also be limited to local authority standard operating periods (Monday – Friday – 8am – 6pm, Saturday – 8am – 1pm, no work on Sundays or bank holidays). Dust and noise levels will also be consistently monitored at the site perimeter so as not to disrupt local residents.

Other measures taken to mitigate disruption would include:

  • Using rotary drill piling solution rather than impact hammers to limit noise and vibration
  • Using electric machinery wherever possible to reduce the creation of fumes.
  • Any non-electrical machinery would be maintained and serviced properly to reduce the creation of fumes
  • Parking all large mechanical machinery on the site, as far away from local residents and NHS facilities as possible
  • Site perimeter hoarding to offer security and create a noise and dust barrier
  • Local litter picks to ensure no construction related litter accumulates in the locality
  • Controlling access to the site for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and construction traffic through a delivery schedule to ensure no HGV’s are parked or left waiting on the main highway
  • Controlling and monitoring site access by a trained works traffic marshal.

Has the impact of air and light pollution been considered?

Contractors will be working with the local authority to consider the impact work will have on the local environment.

The requirement to provide free air movement within the car park will be met in order to ensure sufficient ventilation for users. There will also be a high number of electric-vehicle charging points in the car park.

The floors of the car park would have low-level lighting when not in use and only become fully lit when sensors detect activity on that specific level.

A landscaping strategy also means that the plants, shrubs, and trees growing alongside the car park would create a type of ‘screening zone’ for residents living close by and a landscape scheme will address biodiversity enhancement.

Where will contractors and site personnel park their vehicles during their working day?

During the early stages of work, contractors will park within the Grindley Hill Court site. As space becomes restricted on-site, the contractor will have some staff parking on the Old Infirmary site, who will then shuttle themselves to Grindley Hill Court. The contractors have been instructed not to park on local streets or the main hospital site.

Will a new car park mean a change in traffic levels?

The Trust has been working with the local planning authority and the Stoke-on-Trent highways team to ensure that traffic flow to the car park would not be disruptive. The Trust will also use the appropriate signage to inform staff of the car park’s precise location, and all patients will still be directed to the main site. It’s important to remember that this will be a staff car park with the same members of staff regularly using it.

Additionally, the new car park will minimise the current footfall of staff walking along Thornburrow Drive at the beginning and end of each day to access current car parking facilites.

Won’t this affect the use of the hospital helipad?

No. We are in discussions with the Civil Aviation Authority and we will, of course, ensure there is nothing about this project which adversely affects the operation of the hospital helipad.

Won’t we have massive queues when the car park barrier breaks down?

No. There will not be a physical car park barrier. Access and parking will be fully controlled by CCTV cameras and Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology.

Will there be enough spaces in the new car park to accommodate all the staff parking on the sites the NHS is now vacating?

Yes, all existing car parking spaces lost as a result of offering the COPD and Infirmary land for prospective residential development will be displaced in full to the new car park.

We need more homes. Should we really be replacing homes at Grindley Hill Court with a car park?

The development of a car park on the Grindley Hill Court site is intended to enable the NHS to vacate and then dispose of the Infirmary site and the Central Outpatient Department. The NHS Trust has outline planning permission for the building of new homes on these sites and developing the new car park will enable the regeneration of this part of Stoke and the building of many more new homes.

Honeycomb Group, who previously owned Grindley Hill Court, also intends to re-invest the £5.35m receipt from the sale of Grindley Hill Court into the development of new homes in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire. This investment will also likely secure additional Homes England Grant funding of around £1.5m, enabling the development of around 40 family homes for affordable rent

Why not build the car park underground?

Building a car park underground is much more damaging to the environment than building above ground. The NHS has a duty to undertake development projects with carbon emissions and public disruption kept as low as possible.

Why not build the car park on the nearby old Ambulance Station site?

The NHS Trust explored this possibility but the site is much smaller than the Grindley Hill Court site and if we were to accommodate the necessary number of parking spaces (1680) we would have had to build a much taller car park which would not have blended well into the local environment.

What will be the impact of car headlights on neighbouring properties?

Illuminations from headlights should not impact residents living in neighbouring properties.

Headlights vary between manufacturers, and there is not a prescribed distance for a headlight to illuminate in front of a vehicle but dipped headlights, for example, are designed to illuminate the road directly in front of the car for around 40 to 50 metres.

The car park façade is between 45 to 48 metres away from the front elevations of the housing opposite on Hilton Road. The houses are therefore at the limit of the distance a headlight is likely to reach, and at a diminished illuminance, particularly as the headlight is directed towards the road and not directly ahead. There is also additional screening from retaining walls as the car park ground floor is excavated into the south-east corner of the site.

Landscaped planting to the site boundary and the decorative fins that clad the car park elevations also provide screening. Moreover, Hilton Road is already being illuminated by street lighting and is a main highway that has allocated parking along its length, which reduces visibility across Hilton Road at street level further.

How has the Trust engaged with local residents and stakeholders on the matter?

A period of consultation took place in the pre-application period and the NHS offered stakeholders a number of ways to make their views known. The public could submit their observations or questions on the Trust’s dedicated engagement website and could hear directly from the project team at one of three live webinars.

The consultation was advertised using leaflet drops kindly delivered across the community by the Trust’s two local ward councillors, Councillor Dean Richardson and Councillor Shaun Pender.

The Trust also chairs a monthly Project STAR community group, whose membership consists of local councillors and residents’ association chairs.

The Trust will continue to engage with residents throughout the demolition and development phases and ensure any query or observations from members of the public are responded to in a timely manner from a member of the Project STAR and construction teams. Local residents will be communicated with on a regular basis, before and during commencement of work on the Grindley Hill Court site.

How many entrances and exits will the car park have?

There will only be one junction for the new car park at Grindley Hill Court, which leads directly onto Hilton Road and will serve as the entrance and exit. To ensure minimal queuing for staff, specialist traffic modelling was undertaken throughout the design process to select the route and location of the exit barriers. The position of the entrance and exit is considered to cause the least disruption possible for the site’s location.