Stockport council bosses say they cannot force Stepping Hill Hospital to stop people parking on nearby streets despite a previous planning agreement.
The long-running issue has come close to boiling point over recent years, with people in Great Moor and Stepping Hill often clashing with staff and visitors over inconsiderate parking.
A proposed solution in the form of a permit/pay-and-display scheme was roundly rejected by residents, who said they would be left footing the bill to turn the area into a glorified car park.
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Campaign group SNAG - Stepping Hill Neighbourhood Parking Action Group - was further incensed after discovering a 2008 legal agreement between the hospital and local authority.
Relating to plans for a new extension, it states that the hospital would 'ensure that parking demand does not exceed on site provision or place a demand on any nearby streets and car parks’.
SNAG has been asking since November why the council failed to enforce this and instead pursued its ‘controlled parking zone’ (CPZ) proposals - potentially ‘misleading’ residents into believing this was the only solution.
But they have now been told the agreement relates solely to the extension and its associated parking - not the wider hospital site - and that the council has limited powers in terms of enforcement.
Speaking at the latest full council meeting, Coun Sheila Bailey said the planning objection in question ‘was only concerned with the new development’.
“This section 106 had no implications for the rest of the hospital,” she said.
“Having had the opportunity to formally review the legal position, the council has established that it’s not possible to enforce this obligation, or to require the hospital to take action that removes on-street parking on neighbouring streets beyond the management of its travel plan.”
Coun Bailey, cabinet member for Sustainable Stockport, added that the hospital continued to be responsible for implementing its travel plan - and had worked with the council on a ‘range of measures’ designed to discourage on-street parking.
These, she said, included providing facilities to encourage more people to walk and cycle, promoting the Hazel Grove park and ride scheme and adjusting its car park fees for staff.
She added that the hospital was currently in the process of reviewing its parking policies based upon ‘sustainable behaviour changes following Covid’.
“It’s expected there will be reduced demand for daily commutes compared to before the pandemic,” she said.
Councillor Will Dawson, chair of the Stepping Hill Area committee, asked to be sent the full details of the council's legal position.
"I think we would like to discuss that at the area committee because it obviously impacts on our residents," he said.
Stockport council met at the town hall on Thursday night (January 13).
Stepping Hill Area Committee next meets on Tuesday, January 25.
