There are fears a NHS Tayside plan to move over 100 staff to an empty office suite at Ninewells Hospital could worsen parking congestion.
The health board is relocating around 160 non-clinical employees from the ageing Maryfield House on Mains Loan to the MacKenzie Building at the hospital campus.
This, NHS Tayside say, is part of a wider plan to reduce the number of older properties the health board has on its books.
The move has been years in the making, with the plans first floated in 2018. Maryfield House was deemed surplus to requirements two years earlier.
It’s planned staff will be moved to the MacKenzie Building over a two month period, starting at the end of October.
However, the relocation has sparked concern from a local Lib Dem councillor, who says it will have an adverse effect on the already stretched parking facilities at Ninewells.
Fraser Macpherson said: “I receive regular complaints from constituents about huge queues trying to get parked at Ninewells and missed outpatients appointments as people wait simply to try get parked.
“The infrastructure at Ninewells has expanded way beyond what it was supposed to cover due to the NHS centralising and this proposal will just exacerbate issues such as parking even more.”
Enough space to meet parking demand
In a letter sent to councillor Macpherson, NHS Tayside chief executive Nicky Connor said existing facilities, including the 120-space car park at the MacKenzie Building, would be sufficient to meet demand.
Many of the staff relocating work under a hybrid arrangement.
Ms Connor also detailed that the number of health board staff set to move into the site is less than the 300-strong workforce Dundee University had when they previously occupied the building.
But councillor Macpherson believes the existing car park should be used to provide additional public parking on the Ninewells site.
He added: “It is a missed opportunity to use existing additional parking at the MacKenzie Building to relieve the situation at Ninewells.”
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