A Birmingham hospital is set to be granted permission for an extra 101 parking spaces as bosses look to resurrect unpopular plans to charge staff and visitors.
The application for Moseley Hall, which is opposed by various heritage groups, will go before Birmingham City Council's planning committee on Thursday (September 13).
A report for the meeting states that the ruling Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust wants to encourage more staff to use public transport, bolster parking enforcement and introduce a staff car sharing scheme.
It also reveals that proposals to introduce parking fees, which were halted in 2016 following an angry reaction from workers, could be implemented as early as next year.
Moseley Hall is a community hospital which provides general medical and sub-acute care in specialist stroke and brain injury patients.
There are currently 294 parking spaces at the hospital for 806 staff and 180 patient beds.
The application, if granted, would see the number increase to 395 which would still be significantly short of the 493 spaces recommended for a hospital of Moseley Hall's capacity.
The trust hopes the extra spaces will alleviate issues with people parking on nearby residential streets and occasional illegal parking.
It reassured that there are no plans to expand the hospital or increase patient numbers.
Most of the new bays (92) would be on a plot of land near the main hospital entrance off Alcester Road.
It would mean a public right of way linking the route with Amesbury Road would have to be re-routed - even though it was only established following a public inquiry in 2010.
The remaining nine spaces would be located to the west of the hospital and accessed from Amesbury Road.
The Georgian Group has objected arguing the new car parks would be 'harmful' to the Grade II listed Moseley Hall.
The Moseley Society has lodged similar opposition adding it could set a precedent for even more new parking spaces in the future.
Further objections have been submitted by the city's ramblers group - against re-routing the footpath - as well as more than a dozen residents who raised concerns around privacy and disturbance.
But council planning officers have recommended the scheme be granted permission by the committee next week.
They moved to quell concerns from locals and while the authority's conservation chief said the land would be 'diminished' they added that the harm would be 'less than substantial'.
The officer's report concluded: "The scheme would be acceptable in terms of its heritage, amenity, highways and landscape considerations.
"While providing more car parking, there would be a concurrent greater focus on public transport and support for cycling.
"Therefore, I consider the proposal would constitute sustainable development and it is recommended that planning permission is granted."
