Unsafe Burnley car park closed (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

Unsafe Burnley car park closed

10:00pm Monday 30th July 2012 in News

A CAR park outside the Urgent Care Centre at Burnley General Hospital has been cordoned off after concrete became unsafe.

Inspections revealed that the concrete had ‘spalled’, a process where water enters the material, causing the surface to flake off.

The car park, which stands on ‘stilts’, has now been made safe, but hospital bosses are unsure whether a full catalouge of repairs is worth completing, as the Urgent Care Centre is set to move to a different part of the site next year.

Martin Morgan, director of estates and facilities at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT), said: “This section of the car park by the UCC had suffered from spalled concrete on the underside of the top slab due to deterioration of the reinforcement over time and has now been made safe.

“The surfacing on the upper level has been replaced to prevent further deterioration.

“We are in the process of re-allocating the car parking spaces in that area to reduce staff parking and replace the patient spaces lost as a result of the problem.

“With a new Integrated UCC/Children’s Minor Injuries Unit being developed on another part of the site and due to open in autumn 2013, the trust is currently in the process of seeking out the best solution with regard to cost of repairs and parking for the UCC.”