DARNICK residents have called for a Traffic Order to limit the number of NHS staff parking on their roads.

On Wednesday a Tower Road resident hit out at NHS Borders, who he feels are not doing enough to resolve the ongoing problem of the shortage of long-stay car parks at Borders General Hospital (BGH).

Speaking at this month’s meeting of Melrose and District Community Council, Gordon Wingfield said: “I have done some observations of the BGH car parks one and two - the short stay ones. At one point there were 108 empty spaces. At another time, at 3pm - the peak of visiting hours - there were 35 empty spaces.

“I went down again the next day and there were 142 empty spaces. I thought, what’s going on here?

“I also looked at the NHS Borders website where they themselves say that there are 50 to 100 spaces free every day. Meanwhile we’ve got 70 odd cars cluttering up our streets each day. The hospital actually has masses of ground, but they are not using it.” It was suggested that painting yellow lines - which restrict the amount of time a car can be parked on the road - could be the way forward for reducing congestion in Darnick.

But Community Council Chairman, Provost William Windram, explained: “A Traffic Order is not an easy option. There is lengthy consultation involved, you can’t just paint yellow lines. “We will continue to push Scottish Borders Council to find an improvement but it might move the problem elsewhere.” NHS Borders introduced new parking regulations at the BGH in November, imposing a four hour parking limit in two newly designated short stay car parks in an attempt to free up spaces for patients and visitors. And it was announced that £90 fines would be issued to any vehicle parked too long or inappropriately between 8am and 5pm.

But this week community leaders argued that, while the new system works well for short stays, the staff are at a disadvantage. Mr Windram said: “BGH have resolved the parking problem for visitors and outpatients, but now the short stay car parks seem to be underused.” Community Councillor Briget Khursheed added: “When I’m travelling to work at 8am I see people turning into Darnick very quickly to get into the spaces as fast as they can.

“But this is not the drivers’ problem - they need to get to work - this is a BGH problem.” In December, a meeting was held in Darnick village hall, which was attended by NHS Borders Chief Executive. Although no definitive solution was found, it was suggested that car sharing might alleviate the parking problems and, as a result, 70 car sharing spaces were created in the hospital grounds.

But despite this, Mr Wingfield explained that visitors and contractors still can’t get near his home due to the number of cars parked on the road.

He said: “What has car sharing achieved if it hasn’t taken cars off our roads? There has been discussion with police and SBC over this. We need to put pressure on the council and on BGH - but they don’t care, do they? They have exported their problem into the village. I feel Darnick is a nice little village, but it has been spoiled. I wrote to the BGH Chief Executive 12 days ago but I haven’t got a reply - I must be on the NHS waiting list.” Melrose Commmunity Council heard that the police can only take action if a parking offence is committed.

Community Councillor Rosie Jones said: “We do have to understand that when we buy a property we don’t own the road outside, and we can’t expect to keep it empty in case a visitor comes.” NHS Borders revealed that a new long stay car park will be built in the grounds of the hospital. A spokeperson said: “Building works for the new Scottish Ambulance Service headquarters is currently underway next to the BGH site.

“On completion of these works the area that is currently being used for construction vehicles will be converted into a further long stay car park to help relieve the parking pressure.

“The total number of car parking spaces compares well with other hospitals in Scotland. Many staff have made alternative arrangements for getting to and from work and we are very pleased to see that staff are changing their behaviours to benefit patients and visitors.” Although SBC have not ruled out a Traffic Order for Tower Road, they have pointed out that it may not be the most convenient solution to the parking problem.

A local authority spokesperson said: “We continue to liaise with NHS Borders over the issue of overspill parking from Borders General Hospital.

“Discussions have been held at a high level and the Council is aware that a number of practical measures are being actively investigated to provide on-site alternatives, reduce staff car usage and discourage parking on adjacent streets.

“The introduction of a Traffic Regulation Order to control parking on Tower Street would be a lengthy legislative process and, although it has not been ruled out at this stage, it is hoped the situation can be managed by other means.”