Increasing car parking capacity

The system is a flexible and versatile modular structure of prefabricated elements that can be assembled easily on the surface of an existing parking area without the need for traditional excavated foundations. It may also be disassembled and reassembled at other locations in different configurations and is reported to virtually double surface parking capacity without the associated costs of design and build. This allows parking areas to be temporarily enhanced and expanded with minimum disruption.

The Stockport NHS Foundation Trust was the first Trust in UK to use Fast Park to solve its parking problems due to extensive refurbishment works at Stepping Hill Hospital. The project comprised three structures, configured to suit the dimensions of each existing open car parking area, and has provided about 800 new car spaces for staff, patients and visitors. Importantly, the percentage of available spaces for car parking during the works never fell below 65% thereby minimising inconvenience to the public and staff.

At the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, a 315-space car park has been completed using the system to cover an existing public surface car park close to the main hospital reception and outpatients. The hospital is preparing for major developments over the next few years as services and 1,200 personnel are relocated from the Radcliffe Infirmary. The Trust’s decision to use Fast Park was based on value for money, speed of installation and the ability to maintain a minimum parking capacity during the works.

Chorley and South Ribble District General Hospital has also increased its parking capacity by use of the modular car park decking system. The Trust needed to provide an additional 220 spaces to relieve parking pressure at the site. The area chosen for the installation had previously been prepared in stone without proper surfacing and would normally have needed to be levelled by means of a bulk-dig. However, the need for excavation and retention of steep embankments with retaining walls was avoided. The new car park was opened to hospital staff within three months of commencing the works.

At St. Mary’s Hospital in Portsmouth, the Fast Park system has enabled the Portsmouth Primary Care NHS Trust to complete the enlargement of a parking area of 2,600m2, also in just three months. A particular benefit of the system is its ability to be demounted after use, without loss of its asset value.