Hospital's car park well ahead of schedule

The new £6million five-storey car park for staff at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital is on schedule to open within months, it was announced today.

Contractors are more than half way through constructing the building which will provide 691 free parking spaces for staff. It should be completed in the autumn.

The hospital has been running a free park-and-ride shuttle service for workers to a temporary car park at Dreadnought Road, Pensnett, while building work goes ahead.

Hospital bosses hope the new multi-storey car park will help to free up room for visitors who struggle to park at the site.

But critics have called for free parking to be extended to patients and visitors who will still have to pay.

Dudley councillor Bryan Cotterill says the charges for the public car park run by private firm Interserve, are too high and cause many people to leave their cars on surrounding roads.

It has led to complaints from residents who are angry that patients and visitors are blocking drives and causing traffic problems near the hospital in Dudley Road.

Work on the car park began in December. About three-quarters of the steel framework has now been erected, and concrete beams are being lowered into place.