THE project is already behind, but Orange Health Service patients and their families have been assured construction on 160 extra parking spaces is close to starting.
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Former NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner announced in November the first stage of parking along the northern boundary of the hospital would be delivered by early 2017, with the second stage to be delivered within a year.
With the first quarter almost over, newly-appointed parliamentary secretary for Western NSW Rick Colless said heritage issues were behind the delay.
“Everything that has to change has to go through a heritage committee,” he said.
“Just the removal of individual trees to allow the car park to proceed all had to be ticked off – as I understand it, those issues have now been addressed so we should see work starting relatively quickly from here.”
He announced the grassed area immediately behind the community health and ambulatory care section of the hospital and another site on The Avenue, next to the golf course, were two possible locations for stage two.
The Western NSW Local Health District (LHD) will start a 12-week process of detailed planning, including geotechnical surveys and heritage considerations.
“Once that’s completed, we should be in a position to start the construction straight away,” Mr Colless said.
If The Avenue is chosen, efforts would be made to minimise the impact on views from the hospital towards the golf course.
Heritage approvals also plagued the recently-completed internal road upgrade at the Bloomfield Campus, which was delivered almost two years later than promised.
However, Mr Colless was still confident construction on stage two would be started by the end of the year.
“If it’s not completed by the end of this year, it will certainly be completed by the early part of 2018,” he said.
“The addition of 160 car parks in this precinct here is going to make it a lot easier for the residents of Orange and surrounding districts, particularly to get into their cancer care units.”
Asked whether Monday’s announcement was triggered by pressure from member for Orange Phil Donato in parliament to deliver on the promise, Mr Colless acknowledged the timing was close.
“This process, particularly the assessment of the heritage issues that have to be assessed, that work has been ongoing for sometime, long before Mr Donato made his speech,” he said.
The project will boost parking at the hospital by 15 per cent and will cost $1.3 million, split between the state government, Orange City Council and the LHD.