Royal Berkshire Hospital staff will get hundreds of new parking spaces at surrounding streets and a nearby car park.

The council and the hospital have agreed a deal to provide 178 car parking spaces for staff on surrounding streets, including Upper Redlands Road and Kendrick Road.

A deal has also been agreed for up to 600 daily spaces for the hospital at Queens Road Car Park.

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The agreement was approved on Friday, July 30 and came into effect on Sunday, August 1.

Over the last financial year, Covid has lost the council 75 per cent in revenue, including a 70 per cent hit at Queens Road Car Park, which normally provides Reading Borough Council (RBC) the biggest income of its car parks.

Car parking spaces at Queens Road Car Park had been offered for free during Covid-19 pandemic, with 587 staff registered for free parking since March 2020.

The hospital will now pay the council a set fee for up to 600 spaces at the car park on Queens Road, while the on-street parking will be pay-as-you-go.

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Parking will be available 24 hours a day.

The council says the initiative will “secure guaranteed income at a time of commercial uncertainty while offering on-street parking spaces at under-utilised locations”.

The scheme will also assist the hospital with its parking capacity issues “at a time of ever-increasing demand”.

On-street parking will be at under-utilised spaces on:

• Upper Redlands Road (91 spaces)

• Allcroft Road (22 spaces)

• Kendrick Road (65 spaces)

Each road has a walking time of around ten minutes to and from the hospital’s maternity block.

The on-street parking spaces will be introduced in around three months to allow time for changes to made to the  Permit Smarti application.

RBC and the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust have signed a parking contract agreement for three years, with an option to extend for a further two years.