PARKING at Bradford Royal Infirmary has been a long-standing problem that has proved hard to solve.

But the latest proposal to alleviate the difficulties could be significant, both for hospital patients and residents living in surrounding streets.

If more than 100 new car parking spaces can be created without the need to stray outside the curtilage of the current site, it could be a solution that benefits many people.

It certainly can’t have been easy for residents in nearby streets in recent years, returning home to find parking spaces on their street already taken. Permit zones for residents in the immediate vicinity have eased the situation for some, but such schemes have also had the effect of pushing the parking problem onto streets further away from the hospital. Equally, the lack of parking availability can only have intensified the stress for people driving to BRI for treatment or to visit a loved one. In these circumstances, it is good to see proposals designed to overcoming the parking challenges.

However, it is also worth noting the concerns raised by Councillor Arshad Hussain, who fears the new spaces will not address the problem because most complaints he receives from residents were about hospital staff parking inconsiderately to avoid having to pay the parking charges, while staff parking spaces lay empty.

If this is the case, the solution needs to be two-pronged. While the increase in spaces within the hospital site may be part of the answer, there is a feeling that the hospital should do more to discourage staff from parking on the streets.