Albury councillors criticise lack of car park planning for ED rebuild

A development application to build a temporary car park off Borella Road, to account for shortfalls in parking at Albury Base while the ED is extended, was put to council for approval.

After councillors heard their planners raised with Albury Wodonga Health parking would be "a major issue", prompting the current plan for a 10-year temporary car park while the ED is built, Cr Bowen said the situation was "disappointing".

"Planning needs to be done a little bit better than just doing a carpark next door because they didn't make provision for car parking on their own property," he said.

"We're being made scapegoats, that we have to vote on something to make an emergency department go through when it (car parking) really should have been planned for in the first place on-site.

"Having said that ... it is not my intent to hold progress up (on the ED)."

That was a sentiment shared by Cr Darren Cameron, who noted Cr Ashley Edwards had sought to address some residents' concerns with an amended design.

"I actually feel as though Council and myself are being blackmailed in a sense into approving this development," he said.

"If this development was for a commercial purpose ... there is no way I would support it.

"It's in the wrong place and it's substandard."

To ensure ED plans would not be further delayed by a denial of the application for the car park, councillors voted to approve the development application.

The potential implications if council were to refuse the car park were outlined by planner David Christy, following questioning from Cr Daryl Betteridge.

Mr Christy explained that it wouldn't be council deciding the ED plans, however council staff would not support the ED plans in their submission to a regional planning panel if there were no temporary car park plan.

"In regards to the officers' assessment report that's to be presented to that panel ... the major issue that has been raised by Council staff during an assessment of the emergency department ... was the lack of car parking provided," he said.

"It's likely that a staff recommendation would be to not support the emergency department in the absence of providing sufficient car parking.

"How the regional planning panel decided to take that recommendation, I could not say."

Mr Christy said the 10-year life of the temporary car park - shorter than the 20 years requested by AWH - was to account for the master plan process yet to be released and actioned.

"Should they decide to stay on the base hospital site, it will allow them sufficient time to fully design ... and then construct additional parking on the site," he said.

"Should they relocate to an alternate site, then it would allow for that process to occur as well."

Councillors also were considering if they would make a submission to the panel on the ED plans.

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Cr Edwards successfully moved a motion that council would support the alterations to the ED in their submission, but request consideration of cycling infrastructure to alleviate pressures and stress "the need to ensure that any future hospital development ensures that sufficient car parking".