Plans to develop a £42 million multi-storey car park at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in King's Lynn, Norfolk, has been approved.

The scheme will deliver a total of 1,383 parking spaces, replacing the existing car park at the hospital, which urgently requires improvement. It will include 18 electric vehicle (EV) charging points, 98 blue badge spaces and involve the relocation of the current bus stop. Work would take place in two phases starting in late 2023, with completion expected in late 2025.

The multi-storey car park is part of a wider, long-term estate strategy for a new hospital that the trust is aiming to secure new funding for and be completed by 2030, as the existing hospital has already been operational for ten years past its intended lifespan. To support the plans, the new car park is required to accommodate both short and long-term parking objectives and demonstrates the trust’s commitment to improving the provision of healthcare.

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A detailed transport strategy and travel plan has been developed by the team at innovative engineering consultancy Hexa, along with core civil and structural guidance to ensure the scheme’s success at the planning stage.

Matt Price, director of transport planning at Hexa, said: "Having started working on smaller schemes with the hospital trust and becoming involved with this car park scheme in 2021, it’s great to see the planning application has been approved. It is a much-needed facility for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which will support the ambition for further improvements in future, including the trust’s bid for a completely new hospital."

Hexa was involved in a cross-discipline approach on the project providing expertise to support survey work, environmental works, GEO investigation, noise and air quality investigation, as well as habitat and ecology.

Design and construction consultancy, exi Group was initially appointed to develop a car park strategy and a pre-outline business case (OBC) feasibility study for the cart park and has gone onto provide a full multi-disciplinary service. It has also collaborated closely with the Hexa team and other design team specialists across a range of disciplines.