St John's parking nightmare

6.32.47pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 12th Apr 2007

St John's Therapy Centre - on a busy road

The Bolingbroke hospital consultation document is misleading, say local Lib Dems. It says that there are over 400 public parking spaces available within a "reasonable" distance of the St John's Therapy Centre, the suggested alternative location for services, during mornings and afternoons - over a quarter of total available spaces. This makes parking sound easy, but the Centre is located on a busy road, and has very limited dedicated parking; public spaces nearby are difficult to find. This contrasts with the current arrangements at the Bolingbroke, which is adjacent to two quiet residential streets, and where dropping patients off is relatively easy.

Bolingbroke Hospital at the same time - plenty of parking

"There may be spaces in the maze of narrow, blocked-off streets nearby, but none of the convenience of the Bolingbroke site," says local Lib Dem Alice Humphreys. "In fact it would be very difficult to drop off elderly or disabled patients and take them in to make sure that they are properly attended to."

The St. John's Therapy Centre is on St. John's Hill. It has room for most of the services now being run from the Bolingbroke, but no room for future in-patient services. Lib Dems say that services should not be moved from the Bolingbroke until local needs for a community hospital in Battersea have been properly considered.