BUILDING 120 homes at the old Essex County Hospital site will add to residents’ parking woes, experts have warned.

Residents of Oxford Road, Gray Road and Hospital Road in Colchester have commissioned Intermodal Transportation Limited to compile a report on Essex Housing’s plans for the Lexden Road site.

The firm has warned the 120-home estate will increase strain on the surrounding roads, saying not enough parking is proposed for the number of homes.

The report states: “The lack of adequate provision of visitors parking, the loss of existing on-street parking provision to accommodate vehicular access points on Gray Road and Oxford Road and design issues associated with refuse collection from the site all point to a development which is too large to be properly accommodated on this site from a traffic and parking perspective.

“We would recommend the applicant is asked to carry out adequate on-street car parking surveys at times likely to be under stress from residents and visitor demand and to reconsider the quantum of development based on the provision of adequate on site car parking and servicing arrangements.”

ITL claims the existing plans represent an under provision of 32.6 per cent in terms of car parking spaces, based on county guidelines.

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The report adds: “The principle of redeveloping the site for residential use is not questioned but the current proposal has been ill conceived from a car parking and service access perspective.”

Essex Housing, Essex County Council’s housing firm, said sustainable transport was a “key principle” of the development and cycle storage, an electric vehicle car club and charging points were part of the plans.

A spokesperson said: “For all residential units there will be one parking space included and two for town house properties providing sufficient parking in an accessible location close to the town centre.

“The parking allocation conforms to the residential parking guidance proscribed by Essex County Council with the surrounding streets Oxford Road, Gray Road and Hospital Road already being covered by an existing residents’ parking permit scheme and will not generate additional pressure on parking or traffic in the area compared to when the site was used as a hospital.”

Profits from the scheme will go to NHS and council services.