Kettering General Hospital
Multi-storey Car Park
Thank you for visiting our page to learn more about proposals to build a new multi-storey car park at Kettering General Hospital. This webpage is a place to view plans, learn more about the need for the new development and to keep up to date with progress on the project.
Thank you for taking the time to find out about proposals to develop a new multi-storey car park at Kettering General Hospital near the railway bridge entrance to the hospital.
Prime are working alongside Kettering General Hospital Foundation Trust to deliver this project which is the next step to delivering the hospital rebuild. A new multistorey car park will free up land currently used as surface level parking, for redevelopment.
Prime is a specialist developer of health and care property, based in the Midlands but working across the country. We have a wealth of experience in delivering parking and access projects which transform the experience of staff, patients and visitors accessing hospital estates.
We believe community input is an asset to development and will seek to build close ties to the community as we work to design a solution
that reflects the needs of the Trust and local people.
Why is a new car park needed?
Building a better Kettering General Hospital
Local people will be aware that Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust is seeking to rebuild the current hospital to deliver a new, state of the art facility, which will safeguard the delivery of outstanding care in Kettering for generations to come.
The land currently taken up by car parks A and B will be required to make this happen. Before construction can begin on the new hospital, a new site for car parking must be found.
Prime are working with the trust to develop a new multistorey car park to re-provide the parking spaces, before construction begins on the new hospital.
In the coming weeks we intend to submit a planning application for a new car park.
Site plan
The proposed site for the new hospital car park is at the east of the hospital estate, adjacent to the discharge lounge. It would be accessed via the railway bridge entrance off Rothwell Road. Cars would exit by the same route. The car park would be built into the hospital hill, the level change across the site means users will be able to exit the car park on foot at upper levels, coming out at the higher ground level of the main hospital buildings, via a footbridge.
The car park
What do we aim to deliver?
We are proposing to build a seven-storey car park providing 662 spaces, with 70 spaces reserved for disabled users. The car park will support disabled access for patients and visitors with internal lifts and a bridge to the main hospital building. The main stair core is located at the left of the building on the adjacent image, providing easy access to the hospital. It will support sustainable travel by providing up to 130 electric vehicle charging spaces, and storage for up to 124 bicycles.
Highways
Our proposed car park is not bringing additional traffic to the area, but rather being built to serve existing users, redistributing traffic going to and from hospital to an alternative entrance.
We recognise that Rothwell Road and the area near the railway bridge is well used due to the hospital site and neighbouring homes, businesses and retail areas. We have been working with highways consultants and North Northamptonshire Council to consider the junction improvements required to enable this project.
The detailed design is still being considered, but will fit within the land already owned by the Council (the green area shown here) and the proposed junction improvements will be within the planning application when submitted.
Celebrating heritage through design
In the early 1700s, with the rise of railway infrastructure, Kettering and other small towns in Northamptonshire began to establish significant industries. Factories in these towns started producing footwear on a scale that allowed them to lead global markets and secure national contracts with the Army and Navy.
Many prominent British shoe brands originated from Kettering, such as Dolcis, Freeman, Hardy and Willis, and Timpsons.
The industry created not only work, but also homes for those in the shoe industry, in the area surrounding the hospital. Our design celebrates this heritage by taking inspiration from leather colours, broguing patterns and lace holes.
Sustainability
Our approach
We believe an important measure of the quality of a finished development is its impact on the environment and local community, both during construction and for the lifespan of the building.
The proposed building would be a high-performing and sustainable, low energy new build development, designed to achieve net zero embodied carbon (carbon emissions emitted producing a building’s materials, their transport and installation on site as well as their disposal at end of life).
The building
The car park would utilise roof mounted photovoltaic panels to provide solar power to the car park, with any surplus power made available to the hospital.
We will explore the use of modern methods of construction, where possible. This can result in large portions of the building being constructed offsite and then delivered during low traffic times, which minimises disruption during the build.
We will only employ contractors that are part of the Considerate Contractor scheme.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is a strategy to develop land and contribute to the recovery of nature. Unavoidably some green space will be lost in the development of this car park, however we have committed to delivering a biodiversity net gain of 15%.
We will achieve this by developing a small meadow area to the rear of the building and creating wildlife habitats such as bird and bat boxes within body of the building.
Cycling
In addition to providing space to park cars we are also seeking to encourage cycling to work as part of the trust’s sustainable travel plan.
The car park building will provide secure parking for up to 124 bicycles.
For those who need to freshen up or secure items there would be a shower block, encompassing 10 standard enclosed shower rooms, 2 accessible shower rooms, toilets, lockers and drying cupboards.
Feedback
Thank you for taking the time to read this information. The opportunity for feedback on these proposals has not closed, with planning permission due to be submitted early 2025. If we achieve planning permission we aim to begin work on-site in the first half of 2025 and finish in autumn 2026, a total build period of 16 months.