Our planning team recently helped University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust  achieve approval for an important infrastructure development. The Trust was experiencing acute problems with the transport network surrounding the hospital site. In a wider bid to alleviate the problem a design was drafted for a major extension of 600 parking spaces at the staff car park on Manor Road.

Although the council were broadly accepting of the proposals, there were many technical issues that needed to be resolved before the development process could begin. Such issues included tackling the short-term storage and safe attenuation of the surface rainwater that would run off the new area of impermeable concrete.

Initial proposals to expand the balancing pond which serviced the site were complicated by land-ownership rights. In response, an innovative subterranean storage tank was designed in collaboration with the construction firm working on the project. This alleviated the council’s concerns regarding increased flood risk, and by-passed the lengthy and expensive legal procedures required to overcome the land ownership problem.

Other issues included a significant air quality impact assessment and appraisal which would analyse the potential impact the development would have on the area, which has become far more poignant in the light of the known affect that diesel fumes have on people’s health. However, we were able to demonstrate the numerous reasons why the positive impacts of the proposed development outweigh the potential harm caused by the extension, and permission was granted. By maintaining an on-going dialogue with the council, and actively addressing issues as they arose we were able to steer the complex proposal efficiently through the application process. This proposal was technical in nature and required a collaborative approach by all those involved.