New traffic arrangements at Barnsley Hospital planned to ease congestion at busy site

A series of changes to parking and road arrangements at Barnsley Hospital – including a revamped patient drop-off area – are being proposed by health bosses as the first stage of upgrading the site.
Changes could be introduced for traffic at Barnsley HospitalChanges could be introduced for traffic at Barnsley Hospital
Changes could be introduced for traffic at Barnsley Hospital

The plans would include demolishing a stone pavilion close to the hospital’s front entrance, making changes to the main entrance, ambulance parking area and other alterations to the site alongside Gawber Road.Some trees would be lost, with soft landscaping work being carried out to complete the change.However, a planning application made to Barnsley Council states the scheme is the first phase of a wider project to modernise the site, which dates from the 1970s.The application states: “This is to enable the first part of an exstensive development to take place.”When the hospital was built, it attracted Crown immunity, meaning conventional planning permission was not needed, but changes now must go through the formal planning process.The application states outline planning permission, agreement in principle to make changes, has already been granted and the current application is to clarify the detail.Where work is done on a limited basis, it can be covered by a rule called ‘permitted rights’ rather than needing a second tier of planning consent and the application seeks to gain Barnsley Council’s consent on those grounds, rather than falling back on an application.Hospital chiefs are currently working with Barnsley councillors who represent the area in an attempt to answer congestion problems around the hospital, where air pollution levels are getting close to the permitted maximum.Old Town Councillors Phillip Lofts, Jo Newing and Clive Pickering have declared an air quality emergency for the area and a meeting with the hospital has already taken place, resulting in some proposals which are now being pursued.The councillors estimate somewhere between a quarter and third of the 7,000 daily vehicle movements in the area can be attributed to the hospital and they believe it is short of 1,000 parking places to accommodate the needs of staff and visitors.