Paul Basham Associates were delighted to support an application for an extension to the existing Wallingford Medical Practice to provide four additional consulting rooms. The extension of the surgery will ensure that the practice is able to continue providing a high quality health service to new and existing residents following an increase in demand, generated by recent residential development in the Wallingford area.
The Brief
Working on behalf of Wallingford Medical Practice and alongside Carter Jonas, Paul Basham Associates were instructed to prepare a Parking Technical Note to demonstrate that the additional parking demand resulting from the extension would not have an adverse impact upon the operation or safety of the local road network.
The Approach
In the first instance our team undertook a site visit to better understand the existing site conditions, on-site parking arrangements and the availability of on-street parking. We formulated a detailed plan which outlined both the on-site and off-street parking facilities within the vicinity of the site and agreed the scope of the subsequent parking surveys with the Local Highway Authority. Upon receipt of the survey results we reviewed the available parking capacity both on and off-site. On the same day that the parking beat surveys were undertaken, visitors at the surgery were also asked to record how they travelled to the surgery in order to obtain a multi-modal split for the site.
Once we had identified the available parking capacity both on- and off-site our next task was estimating how much extra parking demand the additional consulting rooms would generate. In this case it was not as simple as the extension proposals equating to a proportionate increase in visitors due to the operation of the surgery. The additional consulting rooms would improve the efficiency of the service provided at the surgery, reducing the duration of each patients visit and subsequently increase the amount of times that a single space could be used throughout the day.
Overall, through a combination of visitor surveys and parking beat surveys we were able to successfully demonstrate that the proposed extension to the surgery would not have any material effect on the operation or safety of the local road network. In addition, our Parking Note outlined a range of measures to be implemented at the surgery, aimed at encouraging sustainable travel practices among staff and visitors.
The Result
It is great to see the extension proposals have now been approved by South Oxfordshire District Council and we are pleased to have been able to support the delivery of an improved healthcare service for local residents in the Wallingford area.