The Conservatives in Surrey Heath have long been vocal advocates and supporters of our local Frimley NHS Trust, with Michael Gove having recently signed a joint letter with local MPs to support the Trust's bid to the New Hospital Programme, in the latest in a long series of action to secure investment into Frimley Park Hospital.
Nonetheless, development whether public or private, should be mindful of the impact it will have on the local community. This should include a construction management plan which details how parking for vehicles of site personnel, operatives and visitors will be provided, how building materials will be delivered, including the HGV deliveries and hours of delivery, where the materials will be stored, the schedule for the programme of works including reports on how this will impact nearby residents, and before and after construction condition surveys of the surrounding highways to ensure that associated construction traffic does not adversely affect the roads and a commitment given to fund the repair of any damage caused.
As such, when the Planning Applications Committee at Surrey Heath Borough Council granted planning consent for a new hospital building at Frimley Park, the committee was mindful that whilst increasing capacity and resources of the hospital is needed, the impact on local residents should be considered. As any regular road user of Portsmouth Road knows, traffic can often build up in all directions.
As Cllr. Edward Hawkins, previously a Borough Councillor for Heatherside and current County Councillor for Heatherside and Parkside, said during the meeting:
"As ward Councillor abutting the hospital, as does my County division, I receive a large number of complaints from residents regarding the car parking and the congestion around the hospital, particularly the roundabout for Portsmouth Road and Chobham Road.
"I have major concerns on this development, I've accepted it's for the hospital and it's for the benefit and well-being of everybody, but I still have major concerns about how goods and construction vehicles are going to access the site, as the only viable ways that I can see are through from the Portsmouth Road.
"This is a major concern to residents... coming down the Chobham Road and down the Portsmouth Road at certain times it is just not worthwhile, there is all the congestion along with the carbon emissions that accrue."
These sentiments were shared by others within the planning committee, with Liberal Democrat Councillor Cliff Betton stating:
"I can't help but agree with you on the congestion, it seems to me, as it does to probably anyone that's actually visited Frimley Park Hospital that the problem arises at the entrance to the car park. It takes too long to get vehicles in so they back-up, and very often back-up as far as what used to be known as the Toshiba roundabout at the end of Frimley High Street.
"If you're going to add more beds, that's going to induce more traffic in addition to the construction and everything else. I think it must be a condition of the approval of this application that something is done to sort out the car park and the access to the hospital grounds at visiting times."
Cllr. Helen Whitcroft, with Cllr. Hawkins, proposed conditions as to where construction traffic would enter, and an informative for the applicant as to avoid the peak visiting hours at the hospital, saying:
"Councillor Hawkins is right, it is an absolute nightmare even at the moment and to have construction traffic going in and out, especially at school time when the growth [of traffic] kicks out, is going to be a problem."
When the decision was taken to vote on the plan, Councillors Alleway, Barnett, Gordon, Hawkins, Lewis, Perry, Skipper, Whitcroft, and White voted in favour of the motion to approve.
Cllr. Betton abstained, and Cllr. Stuart Black voted against the motion.
The Lib Dems have recently distributed a leaflet stating “Tory Councillor Says No To Hospital Improvements”. The leaflet fails to outline any of the above information, nor the fact that Cllr. Betton abstained. With the 'Tory Councillor' in question, this is our candidate and former Councillor of Frimley Green Stuart Black.
Commenting on why he voted against, Stuart said:
"As a member of the SHBC Planning Committee, I voted against an application to ADD a four-storey patient services building to the Frimley site before traffic issues were addressed. Details of the application are here. A diagram of location is here.
"The traffic congestion to get into Frimley Park Hospital is appalling; my late friend and fellow candidate for Councillor Karen Campion had told me how long it sometimes took her to get into the car park at Frimley Park for an appointment; up to 45 minutes. So I thought there was a problem.
"I took the view that the Council should have the courage to say “NO” to developments that will lead to even more traffic to Frimley Park Hospital UNTIL measures have been agreed to improve traffic flow.
"I still hold that view."
The full meeting of the Planning Applications Committee held on Thursday 2nd March 2023 can be viewed here: Planning Applications Committee 2nd March 2023 - YouTube
Full minutes of the meeting of the Planning Applications Committee held on Thursday 2nd March 2023 can be found in the attached document below.
