The daily misery of parking at Darent Valley Hospital is set to be eased for patients, visitors and staff.

Bosses have found space for an additional 101 spaces and 400 more are planned.
Ever since the hospital was built in September 2000 parking has been a bane for visitors seeking to park there as demand for the hospital’s services has soared.

Currently it has some 443 public slots, including 59 for disabled users.
But lack of space has led to moans and long traffic queues snaking out of the complex and into nearby public roads.

Staff have even had to direct vehicles and the congestion piles up.
A resident in the area recently phoned this paper to say what is normally a five-minute drive to Bluewater shopping centre takes him 45 minutes because of the impacting congestion flowing from the hospital.

Cars parked on the hospital’s grass verges are a regular sight and a mother and child were nearly hit after being forced into the road by cars blocking the pathway to the hospital.
Now moves are imminent to help curb the misery.

The hospital hopes to sign a contract at the beginning of December to make available 101 spaces to the public on land facing the front - slots currently used by staff.
In turn, staff will be provided with the same number of spaces on land being utilised at the hospital’s rear.

“The work should take about six weeks,” said a hospital spokesman. “And to alleviate the pressure even further, we will be making a formal submission to Dartford Council next year to create a further 400 shared spaces for both public and staff.”

He said if the council gives the go-ahead, the additional slots will be on a single storey-floor built above the car park facing the hospital’s front.