Lancashire County Council will consider bringing in parking restrictions on residential streets around Royal Preston Hospital at its next Cabinet meeting.

A report recommends bringing measures to discourage problem parking in residential roads near Royal Preston Hospital.

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It outlines the results of public consultation into plans to introduce new restrictions on ten roads following complaints from residents.

The report outlines that indiscriminate and obstructive parking by staff, patients and visitors is making it difficult for vehicles to move along roads, and negotiate junctions.

There are also problems with safety at junctions due to sight lines being obscured, issues for residents getting into and out of their driveways, and particular difficulties for larger delivery and refuse vehicles.

In recent weeks, officers from Preston Neighbourhood Policing Team have been monitoring the area and have issued a number of fixed penalty notices to the owners of vehicles which have been causing obstructions.

A spokesperson said: “We would like to stress that the majority of cars observed in the area have been parked legally.

“We have issued a small number of FPNs to cars that were causing an obstruction. The majority of these were either partially or completely blocking pavements preventing wheelchairs and prams from passing and forcing them to cross over or walk in the road.

“We will continue to monitor the situation in order to make these residential streets safer for both road users and pedestrians. We also continue to work closely with our partners.”

In 2018 Royal Preston Hospital was granted planning permission for a multi-storey carpark on site. However construction of the car park has been put on hold while further plans to improve and increase the hospital are finalised.

Read more: Royal Preston Hospital’s multi storey car park is on hold

Lancashire County Council will consider imposing parking restrictions at a meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday January 16 at 2pm.

Most of the proposed restrictions are focused around junctions and aim to prevent daytime parking on weekdays, however there would also be restrictions on two narrow roads where obstruction is a problem, Fairways and The Paddock, to prevent waiting at any time.

Consultation was held from 9 August to 6 September with 36 responses being received. 19 declared an objection, and 13 expressed support, with others raising no objection or bringing up further issues. The report details these comments along with responses from officers.

John Davies, head of highways, said: “There are pressures on parking in many residential areas, but where problems are reported we have a duty to investigate.

“The issues around Royal Preston Hospital are caused by staff, patients, and visitors parking in residential streets in large numbers, resulting in obstructions and safety issues.

“The aim of these proposed restrictions is therefore to improve the situation for all vehicles which need to use these roads for access during the day, while still allowing residents to be able to park in the evening and overnight.”

Read more: What you need to know about hospital parking charges

The meeting of the county council’s cabinet is due to take place at 2pm on Thursday 16 January.