CONSTRUCTION of a temporary 584-space car park opposite Glasgow's new super-hospital is set to begin next week, despite claims it will lead to "intolerable congestion".
The development, close to the Clyde Tunnel in Govan, has been approved by the council to help ease a parking crisis at the new Southern Glasgow University Hospital.
It will be open to staff by the end of June.
The hospital began accepting its first patients on April 27 but will not be fully up and running until June with more than 10,500 staff.
Multi-storey car parks on site will have a capacity for 3,500 vehicles, although only 2,400 spaces are allocated to NHS staff who hold parking permits.
The situation led nurses' union, RCN Scotland, to warn that some of their members were so stressed about journeying to work without a car that they were quitting.
The health board applied to create temporary car park, on a site opposite Linthouse Road, to plug the shortfall.
The plans faced opposition from neighbouring defence contractor, Thales Optronics, who warned it would cause "intolerable congestion" and tailbacks on both Govan and Linthouse Road.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has also applied to add a further 500 permanent parking spaces to the hospital site, which they aim to have in place by summer 2016.
David Loudon, project director said: "We are seeking to create up to a total of 4,000 spaces as part of a revised campus master plan which will be submitted to Glasgow City Council for approval. Currently, 3,500 spaces are approved.
"We are working to have this completed car parking strategy in place by the summer of 2016. The construction of new spaces is linked to the demolition of surplus accommodation which can begin once all staff and patients have transferred into the new hospital."
The hospital will also be served by 68 peak time buses per hour, including a number of Fastlink bus services.
The £842 million hospital replaces the Victoria and Western Infirmaries, Yorkhill hospital, old Southern General and Mansionhouse Unit.
Gill Robertson, RCN Officer for Greater Glasgow, said: "It's good news that the health board listened to the concerns of our members and to the public and has decided to put in place temporary parking until the permanent parking becomes available.
"However, we are still concerned that despite the improvements to public transport that are being made, there will not be enough parking for nurses who cannot use this public transport due to the location of their homes and their shift times. The big test will be when the move to the new hospital is complete and all patients and staff have been transferred."
Meanwhile, the Wood Foundation announced that it is donating £10million to NHS Grampian to build a multi-storey car park with a minimum of 1000 spaces for patients and visitors at the new Foresterhill Health Campus.
The campus includes a new maternity hospital and cancer centre.
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