Powering up Royal Derby Hospital – Planning application for new substations

Royal Derby Hospital

On behalf of our client, Derby & Burton Hospitals University Foundations Trust, Planning & Design Practice Ltd have submitted a full planning application that seeks permission for the installation of two substations at the Royal Derby Hospital, Uttoxeter Road.

The substations will be located in separate locations across the Hospital site. One of which will be located to the rear of the main building in close proximity to the Children’s Hospital entrance and will be accommodated within a brick building. The proposal will be set into the existing embankment and will be accessed by steps on either side.

The other substation will be located in close proximity to the KTC unit and comprises of a small extension to an existing storage area. Both substations will have a footprint of 9.1 metres by 6.2 metres with two access doors on either side elevation.

The proposed development was considered to be acceptable within the hospital campus and will assist in facilitating the delivery of hospital facilities and services.

The design and appearance of the substations and their building was considered to be acceptable and is similar in design and appearance to other similar substations within the hospital grounds.

The proposal will not be visible within the public domain. The proposal is set away from the closest residential properties on Owlers Lane, Princes Drive and Balmoral Close along with Springfield.

The proposal will not have an impact on the servicing, car parking and manoeuvrability within the hospital site and there will be no interaction with the public highway

As such the proposal has been considered against Local Plan Policies, the National Planning Policy Framework where appropriate and all other material considerations. The hereby approved is considered to be acceptable in terms of design, external appearance, impact on residential amenity and movement within the hospital site.

Planning & Design Practice Ltd provide consultancy services to the public sector and are pleased to be working with the Derby & Burton Hospitals University Foundations Trust to deliver new buildings & facilities across Southern Derbyshire and East Staffordshire. We have recently successfully secured permission for a 3-storey ward extension across the front of Royal Derby Hospital, a new operating theatre and an extension to the staff car park. For more information, or to discuss how we can help you with a specific project, please get in touch on 01332 347371.

New multi-storey car park planned for Royal Derby Hospital

Royal Derby Hospital

On behalf of our client, Derby & Burton Hospitals University Foundations Trust, Planning & Design Practice Ltd have submitted plans for an 874-space multi-storey car park (MSCP) at the Royal Derby Hospital, to be constructed by Galliford Try, one of the UK’s leading construction groups .

The Royal Derby Hospital campus is located approximately 2 miles from Derby City Centre. The campus is bounded by A516, with good road links to the A38 and A50. The campus has one main entrance with eight car parks based around the hospital building for patients and visitors to choose from off the hospital’s internal loop road. The proposed site for the MSCP is located towards the south-east corner of the campus, designated Car Park 6.

The Trust have identified the existing Car Park 6, as an area best suited for constructing a new multi-storey car park with a pedestrian overpass linking it to the existing buildings along the south easterly section of the hospital. Other locations were considered for the proposed development including car park 7, but rejected because of their size, shape, proximity to the public highway and local infrastructure. Car park 6 is the most practical and economical location for a new car park which currently has capacity for 385 spaces, which is proposed to expand to 874 (including a 10% allowance for disabled spaces) giving an overall increase of 300 spaces once ‘lost’ spaces are deducted.

multi-storey car park

The siting of the new MSCP is as close as possible to the existing internal roadway maintaining pedestrian footpaths and crossing points from the hospital building. The remaining area to the east will be repurposed as a landscaped greenspace for staff to enjoy.

One benefit of siting the MSCP in car park 6 is that it is towards the end of the one-way loop road system, which means that queues are not likely to develop near the entrance on Uttoxeter Road. The proposed MSCP has been cited as far as possible from neighbouring residents. It takes advantage of the sloping ground, in order to keep the height down so as to protect the visual amenity of the area and not have an overbearing impact on neighbouring houses or hospital windows.

The steel frame structure will contain precast concrete floors and ramps, with external decorative cladding to ensure limited headlight glare, but retaining natural ventilation. Climbing plants will be encouraged to grow up the mesh exterior to improve the overall appearance of the car park.

The proposed multi-storey car park is to be constructed of a steel frame construction with a composite concrete/steel floors and ramps. The main steel structure is based on a 7.5m grid by 16m, the overall size of the car park is approximately 110m x 48m for the overall footprint.

Various initiatives haven been employed by the Trust in recent years to manage parking pressures, including the expansion of the Manor car park and relocation of staff to this car park (freeing up spaces on the RDH site for patients and visitors). The introduction of a one-way loop road system, traffic lights and manned booth at the entrance, staggering clinic and visiting times, the introduction of a mobile phone parking app, the redeployment of staff and services to the London Road Community Hospital, and green travel initiatives including investment in new bus routes and cycle storage.

Notwithstanding all of the above initiatives, increases in demand for the hospital’s services, the requirement for new build accommodation on the site, and the finite amount of land available mean that the point has been reached, in the Trust’s opinion, that a MSCP is needed at The Royal Derby Hospital site. As the recent planning history demonstrates, there is pressure to expand hospital accommodation, but there is only limited space available on site. The proposed increase of 300 spaces would help to rectify the parking issues the hospital has been facing and will continue to face.

In the longer term therefore, the number of spaces proposed in the MSCP is considered to be proportionate and appropriate for the level of demand being experienced and the other issues which need to be considered, including climate change, impact on neighbouring and impact on the surrounding road network (issues which are discussed in more detail below), The proposal is therefore, considered to be acceptable in principle.

Whilst at first glance, the provision of a MSCP and 300 additional parking spaces may appear to work against the goal of tackling climate change, it should not be seen as such, because it forms part of a much broader strategy. The proposal is designed to maintain a balance moving forward; dealing with current parking issues and compensating for the inevitable future loss of existing car parks through hospital expansion. The overall strategy is still to achieve the 5 objectives set out by the Environmental and Sustainability strategy report.

The MSCP itself will have other ‘green’ benefits. It will free up a significant amount of space to the east, currently tarmacked and used for parking for soft landscaping. This will increase the amount of permeable surfacing on the site and improve biodiversity. The MSCP will also include a number of electric vehicle charging points, which will help to encourage a shift amongst staff and the public towards electric vehicles. The proposal is therefore part of a broader strategy by the Trust to encourage green travel choices and tackle climate change. Some additional parking is ultimately required however to maintain acceptable service provision over the coming years.

Planning & Design Practice Ltd provide consultancy services to the public sector, and are pleased to be working with the Derby & Burton Hospitals University Foundations Trust to deliver new buildings & facilities across Southern Derbyshire & East Staffordshire. We have recently successfully secured permission for a 3 storey ward extension across the front of Royal Derby Hospital, a new operating theatre and an extension to the staff car park. For more information, or to discuss how we can help you with a specific project, please get in touch.

Proposed rooftop extension to provide a new operating theatre

Royal Derby Hospital

Planning & Design Practice Ltd are working with Derby & Burton Hospitals University Foundations Trust on a proposed rooftop extension to provide a new operating theatre at Royal Derby Hospital.

The proposal sought to create a single storey extension on top of the existing single storey entrance to the Orthopaedic department. The application was made at a time where there is increasing pressure to expand hospital accommodation, but there is only limited space available on site. The Hospital’s requirements for new facilities continue to grow, and the recent development has had to continually adapt in order to locate development to areas in the Hospital where it is needed most. Extending upwards has been a key approach adopted in this scheme, ensuring that the limited space available is maximised through careful design.

The new Hybrid Theatre will be located on the first floor and will comprise of a flat roofed modular structure, which will have a floor area of 345m2 and will be approximately 4.3m in height. The internal features of the building will comprise of treatment rooms including 4 General Surgery Operating Theatres. There will also be associated staff, utility and administration facilities also included as part of the extension.

The Theatre will link with the existing roofed link which will connect the building with the Kings Treatment Centre unit across the existing internal road to the west.

The proposed building will be clad with insulated composite flat panel cladding to match the existing buildings adjacent to the application site. The window openings will be PPC aluminum which will also match with the building below. The extension will be seen in the context of the existing hospital buildings which comprise of rectangular flat roofed buildings extending up to 5/6 storeys.

It is anticipated that the new Hybrid Theatre will be staffed by existing staff redeployed from elsewhere in the Hospital, but new staff will likely be required in due course in the revamped and expanded A and E department, thus the ward will in effect create a number of new jobs.

The link between planning and health is long established, and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) have brought about a greater integration of health and wellbeing in plan making and decision taking. Under this framework, the planning system can play an important role in facilitating social interaction and creating healthy inclusive communities. The new Hybrid Theatre will help many people with serious or life-threatening conditions and provide emergency access to healthcare.

Planning & Design Practice are pleased to be working as planning consultants for the Derby & Burton Hospitals University Foundations Trust to deliver new buildings & facilities across Southern Derbyshire & East Staffordshire. We are currently working with the Trust, Derby City and East Staffordshire Council to deliver a new medical centre; further ward extensions such as this rooftop extension and a multi-storey car park. For more information please click here.

Operating Theatre approval for Royal Derby Hospital

Royal Derby Hospital

Planning & Design Practice Ltd have recently had approval for an operating theatre at the Royal Derby Hospital.

The application relates to the Private Patients Operating Theatre proposed to the east of the main hospital complex. The extension has already been granted (under planning reference 07/18/01011), which designed the building so that it was elevated by stilts, meaning the Theatre would operate on the first floor.

The redesign of the building means a new application was required. The fresh application designed the building so that it would remain in the same location to where it was originally approved, however the design has been amended by locating the building on the ground floor so it would no longer be operating on the first floor of the ward.

The stilts were previously designed so that the parking bays beneath would remain and could still be used by visitors. The buildings proposed positioning on the ground floor will result in the loss of 7 parking spaces. In the context of the amount of parking available at the Hospital, the loss of 7 bays was deemed as an insignificant loss. Especially as the site is in a sustainable location and utilises the existing traffic infrastructure. The implementation of the application will increase the size of the hospital marginally, and it will not create a substantial increase in the volume of traffic.

The overall scale and size of the proposed theatre is not dissimilar to that previously approved. The materials – brick and Kingspan cladding – will match the with the main hospital building. The elevations are plain, but that is the nature of the facility and it will not be a large structure. It was considered that the extension will be less prominent than the previously approved version being at ground rather than first floor level.

The scheme was a success as the Covid19 pandemic has accelerated pressure to expand hospital accommodation, where there is only limited space available on site. The application has therefore located development to areas in the Hospital where it is needed most.

Over the last 20 years we have worked for many District and Unitary Local Authorities, Government Agencies, Parish Councils and the NHS. We are pleased to be working as planning consultants for the Derby & Burton Hospitals University Foundations Trust to deliver new buildings & facilities across Southern Derbyshire & East Staffordshire. In the past 12 months we have secured permission for a 3 storey ward extension across the front of Derby Royal Hospital, and a three storey extension to the Treatment Centre Building at The Queens Hospital, Burton-on-Trent. We are currently working with the Trust, Derby City and East Staffordshire Council to deliver a new medical centre; further ward extensions and a multi-storey car park.

Planning permission for extension at Burton hospital

PDP_Hospital Extension

Planning & Design Practice Ltd were delighted to receive planning permission for a three storey extension to the Treatment Centre Building at The Queens Hospital, Burton-on-Trent.

The Hospital site is situated on the western side of Burton-on-Trent and is accessed off Belvedere Road.

The Belvedere Road Site was originally developed and opened as Burton’s 4th hospital (Burton District Hospital) in 1971. In 1990, a £34 million capital development began to re-develop the Belvedere Road site and include all the facilities housed at the General Hospital which opened in 1942 so the old General hospital could be closed. The new Burton Hospital was completed by the end of 1993, and opened officially by Her Majesty The Queen on December 7, 1995. The following year the hospital changed its name to Queen’s Hospital.

The application for a new 3-storey, modular building, is linked to the existing Treatment Centre. It will have an overall floor area of 3,967sqm and have a flat roof. The ground floor internal layout has been agreed. It includes 28 new beds and will allow the centre more capacity for elective surgery.

The Building will be supporting local communities and will enable the NHS to deliver the operating capacity required to enable the Queens site to develop and have the capacity it requires to keep ahead of the growing needs of the local health economy.

Planning & Design are delighted to get the permission through for the NHS, where a first class new ward facility has been secured at a challenging time for the NHS.

Over the last 20 years we have worked for many District and Unitary Local Authorities, Government Agencies, Parish Councils and the NHS. We are pleased to be working as planning consultants for the Derby & Burton Hospitals University Foundations Trust to deliver new buildings & facilities across Southern Derbyshire & East Staffordshire. In the past 12 months we have secured permission for a 3 storey ward extension across the front of Derby Royal Hospital, and we are currently working with the Trust, Derby City and East Staffordshire Council to deliver a new medical centre; further ward extensions and a multi-storey car park.

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