The Tweed community is set to benefit from additional car parking at Tweed Valley Hospital, following the appointment of local company, Alder, to undertake works to expand car parking capacity.
The project will deliver 130 new street-level free car parking spaces, boosting the site capacity to more than 1,300 parking spaces, and includes upgrades to existing parking areas such as new signage, line marking, and enhanced parking management systems.
This project follows an extensive operational review into transport and traffic arrangements at the Tweed Valley Hospital, including consultation with emergency services.
Most of the new parking spaces will be created on the grassed area to the south of the existing multi-level car park and along Ring Road on the northern boundary of the hospital campus.
Work will be carried out in stages to help minimise disruption to patients, staff and visitors.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
The $723.3 million Tweed Valley Hospital opened to patients in May 2024 and has transformed the delivery of healthcare in the region.
The hospital has expanded its health services, including interventional cardiology and radiotherapy, allowing residents to access these services locally without needing to travel outside the region.
The additional parking is being delivered by Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD), in partnership with Health Infrastructure.
Staff and the community will continue to be updated as work progresses.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park:
"The new Tweed Valley Hospital has been embraced by the local community, with activity rising significantly since opening in May 2024.
"These works will boost capacity on site to more than 1,300 free parking spaces, improving access to the hospital and vital health services for the local community.
"I'd like to thank all our staff and volunteers at Tweed Valley Hospital as well as the local community for their feedback."
Quotes attributable to Minister for the North Coast, Janelle Saffin:
"Tweed Valley Hospital is a very busy health facility, with hundreds of staff delivering high-quality healthcare every day to the growing communities of the Tweed-Byron region.
"We trust this additional free parking will ensure a better experience for patients, their families and carers and of course our wonderful staff, when they go to the hospital.
Quotes attributable to Labor Spokesperson for Tweed, Emily Suvaal:
"This expansion is critical to ensuring the community has access to more free parking when they are visiting the hospital.
"The National's plan was to privatise this parking and make local people pay for it.
"Not only did the Minns Labor government ensure this parking was kept in public hands, we are expanding it to meet increased demand."
Quotes attributable to NNSWLHD Chief Executive Tracey Maisey:
"We're delighted work will soon get underway on the construction of additional parking at Tweed Valley Hospital. This will make a real difference to the many patients, carers and staff who visit the hospital campus every day.
"Thank you to the team who have worked to deliver this project. We're confident these practical steps will improve access to the hospital campus and ensure we continue to deliver first class healthcare to our community."
