How can increased capacity at NHS car parks offer solutions, and not problems? Hospital car parking is a complex and multi-faceted issue. Approaches to modernise parking solutions must take into account the needs of the future, and develop appropriate and efficient ways to control throughput and overflow. Paul Eaton, Marketing and Business Development, at Berry Systems, looks at how parking solutions can adapt and adjust for the demands of future generations.
As we all know, car parking at NHS sites is a constant issue. Whether it’s concerns about capacity, throughput, or simply the management of the site itself, demand always seems far higher than can be reasonably dealt with. Independent surveys show that at peak visitor times, there are currently up to 72 visitors queuing to wait for a space at hospital sites.
A previous project to extend staff parking facilities for Colchester Hospital saw Berry’s specialist knowledge and expertise utilised. The project was ideally suited to a single-storey modular system, which adequately met the hospital’s increased need for staff parking, and still provides the flexibility to add further levels if required.
Site capacity
As healthcare estates and facilities managers will know, site capacity at NHS hospitals certainly isn’t an isolated issue; almost every site struggles to provide the volume of both staff and patient spaces required for day-to-day operation. The problem has been compounded by the continuing effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on NHS sites across the country. Increased backlog, and higher demand for services, have generally meant that all sites have struggled to provide sufficient parking capacity for both staff and patients.
Naturally this data suggests that more investment is needed in parking infrastructure to support the increased demand for spaces at NHS sites. However, with the cost of land at a premium, especially in the urban centres where hospitals are typically located, it is growing less and less feasible to construct car parks via traditional means.
Multi-storey parking
The most effective option is often a move toward multi-storey car parking (MSCPs), expanding vertically, saving costs on land, and minimising disruption on site. MSCPs offer solutions which reduce congestion and the amount of on-street parking required. However, with solutions such as multi-storey car parks, it is critical that the construction process is kept as short as possible in order to keep the site running normally, and keep disruption to visitors to an absolute minimum. According to a report from NHS England, a reliance on modern methods of construction ‘can be vital’ in helping to reduce capital cost.
Naturally, any increased capacity means higher revenue for the NHS Trust operating the building, and a reduced need for space. One pressing concern, though, is that the average car parking space in the UK is now 2.4 m x 4.8 m, after spaces were widened in 2016. Multi-storey solutions would naturally mitigate these issues by being able to condense a higher number of spaces into a horizontally smaller area. This approach would increase the revenue generated from parking charges, and require significantly less land space to achieve
There are also considerations about the acquisition of land itself. Regardless of cost, which is varied and constantly in flux, the land acquisition process is slow, and often fraught with complications. These are generally exacerbated by the size of the space required, and any planning permission that needs to be sought.
The highest priority
Creating as many spaces with as little land as possible is now the highest priority, particularly given the events of the previous two years, and the fact that more patients than ever are waiting to receive treatment. The increased number of visitors attending appointments puts a significant strain on the availability of car parking spaces. Staff numbers are also likely to grow to address the backlog of patients who have had their treatment cancelled or delayed during the pandemic, and having accessible and well-maintained parking for staff is a priority. Solutions such as MSCPs are perfect for segmenting areas to allow for separate visitor and staff parking areas
Pressure on parking sites for staff will also be eased by the introduction of the Park Active scheme. The government initiative plans to work with local parking providers to provide accessible, offsite parking to NHS staff. The scheme also plans to encourage the use of public transport, and walking and cycling; this will be funded by the government’s £2 bn investment in active travel.
How should hospital car parks function?
Hospital car parks should be as userfriendly as possible. Visitors and patients are likely to be experiencing a broad variety of emotions when visiting hospitals, chief among them being stress. Issues with parking or other inconveniences can compound this, and turn a bad day into an awful one. This has a knock-on effect for both staff and other visitors.
All aspects of car park management should be run as smoothly as possible to ensure not only a better user experience, but equally to help streamline the hospital’s overall process. Access and exiting efficiency are a huge concern.
If a site is unprepared for high volumes of traffic, and struggles to manage the throughput, the car park can become ‘backed up’ very quickly. This only causes more delays and further inconvenience for those waiting to get in. Specialist expertise and input during the planning application stage can help develop systems for dealing with high traffic management.
Ticket terminals
Ticket terminals should be simple to use and reliable. If even one of the terminals malfunctions it can massively increase wait times in car parks. In the event of such as issue, a car park user has to travel to a different part or level of to pay for parking, which not only delays them, but also each subsequent visitor vying for a space. The same goes for the proper operation of barriers and CCTV equipment. These measures aren’t purely installed for revenue protection, but are equally there to ensure that customers and their vehicles are kept safe
The physical environment of a hospital car park is also an important consideration for NHS Trusts. Although most car parks are fundamentally functional in design, this doesn’t mean that users shouldn’t expect a certain degree of comfort and safety. Car parks should be well-lit and ventilated to maintain the safety of the site. Lighting is vital, not only for pedestrians and staff navigating their way back to their vehicle, but also for cars parking and moving throughout the building.
Risks from poor ventilation
Ventilation and airflow are of the upmost importance. Improper ventilation of car parking spaces isn’t just unsafe, but potentially dangerous too, as poor ventilation can lead to a build-up of carbon monoxide. MSCPs benefit from openings on the exterior walls to help improve airflow. These spaces are often secured with safety mesh or other types of permeable cladding, preventing accidents, without hindering interior ventilation.
Aesthetics and design
Gone are the days of the Brutalist car parks of the 1970s. Nowadays, most public spaces or buildings are committed to designs that enmesh themselves well into the surrounding area, and cause as little disruption as possible, aesthetically speaking. The erection of a large structures in any area can cause friction with residents – non only in terms of how a building looks, but equally over the level of disruption it could cause as regards noise and traffic
Car parks are now designed not only with functionality in mind, but also appearance. Given the size of the structure, it is always preferable to design a building that fits in with the area and complements the local landscape. Modern cladding solutions are able to meet ventilation and lighting requirements whilst delivering cutting-edge designs that integrate beautifully with their environment. Perforated and mesh cladding allow large amounts of natural light into a car park, and provide excellent ventilation. Perforated panelling provides a high level of design flexibility, with a large number of compositions available; such panelling also provides the perfect option for ‘green walls’.
‘Green walls’
‘Green walls’ and trellis systems are an increasingly popular choice for cladding on car parks, not merely for their aesthetic appeal. The abundant growth of the plants used can lend a wonderful natural touch to any design, and purifies the air within the car park. They can also help to lower ambient temperatures within the space, reducing the costs of running airconditioning
Disruption during construction
Design considerations are all well and good once the building is complete, but residents will likely be very concerned about disruptions to the hospital and the surrounding area during the works. Most standard designs and construction processes for MSCPs require structural foundations as a protective measure against subsidence, especially on greenfield land. Modern modular options are available, which are manufactured offsite, minimising disruption during the assembly process. The structures themselves can be put together in phases, decreasing the overall space needed on site, and reducing the construction period to weeks, instead of months.
Function and form
The most important aspect of any car park is its functionality. It needs to be able to generate the maximum revenue possible for the Trust, and, in order to achieve this, the space must be used in an optimal way to generate the highest number of spaces for the area used. Efficiency has always been at the core of car park design, but with the Government’s pledge to deliver a Net Zero NHS by 2040, the pressure now falls on how car parks can be best adapted for the future.
Given the rise in ‘car-pooling’, and the increased pressure on government to introduce High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, adapting car parks to accommodate larger vehicles is an easy way to encourage people to travel together – with the potential to reduce the number of cars on the road, and in turn cut carbon emissions massively.
Climate change is an existential threat, and as such, being able to adapt to environmental change is imperative. Modular solutions provide the most flexibility regarding their construction and design. The lack of foundations means that the structures are demountable, should the requirements for parking change in the future. Likewise, extra levels and extensions can be installed if the need for parking capacity increases.
The shift towards ‘EVs’
Designers should also consider the shift consumers have taken towards Electric Vehicles (EVs). With EV technology becoming more and more widespread, Electric Vehicle Chargers (EVCs) are appearing more and more throughout the country. Naturally, car park operators should be aware of not just the increased demand for charging points, but also the extra revenue opportunities these present
The requirement to cater for electric vehicles is only going to keep increasing. The sale of new petrol, diesel, and hybrid cars will be banned by 2035, and all new cars and vans will effectively be zero emission by 2040. This may sound like the distant future right now, but in reality, it’s only 13 years away. Like it or not, we are now rapidly entering the age of the electric vehicle. Sales of plug-in electric cars almost doubled in January last year. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that 23,480 passenger plug-in cars were registered – that’s a rise of 90% over January 2021 – and an improved market share of 20.4%.
Accommodating the future
When tackling the challenges posed by the infrastructure demands of EVs, it is important to consider the different requirements of both private and fleet users, and the various reasons they are visiting the hospital. These include whether to designate certain spaces with rapid, fast, or slow charging units. It makes sense for car parks to include charging points of each kind. This saves on the potential energy costs of providing such points, as well as designating distinct charging areas that can be filled according to need, and the duration of a user’s visit.
Those visiting friends and family or attending appointments will presumably spend the least time in the hospital, likely under two hours; thus it makes more sense to prioritise such users for rapid charging. Contractors, and any vehicles belonging to inpatients, are likely to be staying longer than two hours, meaning that fast charging would be most appropriate. Staff, who will be working for upwards of six hours, would be perfectly suited to slow charging bays
Delineating charging points according to need and visiting time will help keep parking bays free, and increase throughput. It also allows for any overflow from busier rapid charging areas to funnel into ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ charging areas, depending on availability.
Infrastructure challenges
Providing the infrastructure for EVCs can prove to be difficult, but it is ultimately necessary if NHS sites are to meet their net zero goals. The increased demand and requirements placed on the national grid will mean that an increased EVC roll-out will have to align with the Government’s plans to develop infrastructure at its own rate. This can compound the issues faced by installation currently. According to the Government’s EV infrastructure strategy, Taking charge: the electric vehicle infrastructure strategy, ‘Chargepoint operators have reported poor grid capacity in some areas being a barrier to projects’.
These issues are unlikely to improve without the implementation of large-scale updates to the national grid. Fortunately, the government is currently working ‘[…] with Ofgem to ensure [that] electricity network arrangements enable faster deployment of charging infrastructure across the whole country’. NHS Trusts and private companies are able to take advantage of the schemes offered by the Government to subsidise the roll-out of EVCs in public spaces such as car parks. The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) and the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (LEVI) have been put in place purely to promote a wider roll-out of EVCs in public spaces. The WCS alone has supported the installation of over 22,000 EVCs since 2016 .
Where will the power come from?
Although these schemes have been put into place, careful consideration needs to be given to where the power will come from to charge these vehicles. The shift to EVs is being driven by the need to tackle climate change, and to provide a cleaner, more sustainable environment. If we are simply using more and more electricity, then it will defeat the object of the exercise
Renewable energy is the way forward. Car port systems that utilise solar panels are an ideal way to harness this – to not only charge the parked vehicles, but also offering the capability to store excess power in batteries, direct it to contribute to the operation of the building, or feed back into the grid. This is a ‘clean’ method for car parks to be environmentally friendly, while also increasing efficiency and reducing costs.
Addressing some of the key parking issues
The demands for car parks are increasingly complex, and heavily depend not only upon legislation, which outlines how sites should operate and organise themselves, but also on the requirements of their users. Parking solutions for hospitals should provide well-designed spaces that provide safety and security for users’ vehicles, while being sufficiently adaptable to the future need.
Berry Systems’ range of modular parking solutions provide the perfect, future-proof approach for parking on NHS sites. By relying on modern construction methods, the modular system allows for much faster build times. Offsite manufacturing means that the fabrication process is expedited, speeding up the erection process exponentially. Provided that the site conditions are correct, the Topdeck Modular system can be installed without the need for foundations. In instances where they are required, screw pile foundations are ideal for rapid installation.
Offsite system’s benefits
The modular system’s reliance on offsite fabrication also minimises the risk of disruption to any worksite. It allows for phased construction, which hugely reduces the space required for installation, and allows hospital sites to stem throughput away from the impacted areas. Entire car parks or accessible spaces around hospital sites shouldn’t have to close off and restrict access when work is taking place. Berry Systems is accredited by the Considerate Constructors Scheme, ensuring that the utmost care is taken to minimise disruption on site and allow for normal operation, as far as is possible. Even smaller jobs such as painting bay markings are eliminated, as the modular system’s panel work delineates spaces as they are constructed.
The speed of both fabrication and installation is one of the Topdeck Modular system’s greatest strengths, allowing for fully flexible multi-storey car parking solutions to be constructed in weeks, instead of months. This time saved is not only crucial for getting the site back up and running in the shortest amount of time possible, but it also saves on the initial budget, while ensuring that revenue will be generated for the Trust as soon as possible.
Funding options
Trusts may not be aware of the funding options available to them to support sustainable power and resource efficiency projects within their car parks. As part of our turnkey parking solution, we can discuss a fully funded solution available through our partners at ESF Energy. These funding options offer either a set service charge for the provision of solar and EVC facilities, or the re-purchase of any surplus power generated from solar solutions.
Modular systems are also perfectly equipped for any revisions that may need to be made to the parking structure in the future. The design ensures that future decks can be added to the car park with minimal disruption and reduced construction times. This system’s other major benefit over traditionally constructed car parks is the ability to demount and relocate the structure at a later date, allowing the site to quite literally adapt to the environment as it changes.
By relying on modern methods of construction for our modular system, we provide hospital car parking solutions that offer as little disruption as possible during the construction process – systems which easily accommodate the requirements of rising numbers of EV users, and provide a flexible and dynamic approach to overflow and capacity issues. As the problems of the future change, so must our solutions. Providing infrastructure that easily adapts to a world in flux is increasingly important, and we must ensure that industry is changing with it.
Paul Eaton
Paul Eaton, Marketing and Business Development at Berry Systems, works with all the company’s departments ‘to create long-term value for a business from customers, markets, and relationships’. He often finds himself playing an active role in many of the business’s sales activities. Alongside his ‘deep involvement with customer service and satisfaction’, he spends his time at Berry dealing with enquiries and developing a network of contacts to attract new business to help the company develop and improve.