Improving access to vital healthcare services

Our transport planners led a successful contribution to the planning submission for a new three-storey rehabilitation unit within the existing Western Community Hospital in Southampton.

Based in the Millbrook area of Southampton, the Western Community Hospital provides important community and mental health services for people across the city.

Acting for the Solent NHS Trust, we delivered the transport planning, noise and air quality studies to support the planning submission for the £19.5m redevelopment of one of the existing wings. This will deliver a three-storey, 50-bed purpose-built rehabilitation unit.

Our work was delivered in close collaboration with planning consultants, Vail Williams who led the planning application, and architects Sonnemann Toon. We also oversaw the delivery of the ecology and landscaping statements from Tyler Grange. Southampton City Council granted conditional planning permission for the scheme in August 2021.

Our work has included the delivery of a Transport Statement and Travel Plan for the application, and in addition we have produced a site-wide Travel Plan for the whole hospital.

We focused on improving how the existing parking provision was managed. Western Hospital sits in a residential area and there is no space to extend the available parking. We listened to staff to understand how they travelled to the hospital and we assessed how to influence travel patterns and behaviours to encourage other means of travel.

With an emphasis on ensuring there is provision for patients and visitors to park at the hospital, we advised the NHS Trust on how to ensure the existing parking provision is used in a more disciplined way, whilst supporting staff, in particular, with ways they can positively change their own travel patterns.

Success was important as it enables the increase of important healthcare provision in the community whilst minimising the impact on the surrounding area.

Image courtesy of Sonnemann Toon Architects LLP.