Lives are being put at risk by inconsiderate motorists parking near Darent Valley Hospital, according to a man living nearby.

Charlie Rayner says parking restrictions are needed on Fleet Estate to deter drivers from leaving their vehicles in potentially-dangerous or inconvenient places.

The 73-year-old angling coach contacted the Messenger after an ambulance taking a patient to hospital was unable to manoeuvre around two cars in Patterdale Road and had to reverse to find an alternative route.

South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAMB) confirmed the vehicle was delayed by three to four minutes, although the crew was not responding to a life-threatening call at the time.

Mr Rayner, who lives in Lunedale Road, Dartford, said: “I was in my shed when I heard the siren going for several minutes. I went outside to see why, then went back for my camera, took the pictures and spoke to the driver.

"There were also cars behind him who went another way, and I watched him back to use another route.” Mr Rayner said the parking problems posed a potential risk to life and had been encountered on the estate for months, but that “no one is interested”.

He believes many of the drivers are using the estate as an overspill car park from the hospital.

He said: “They start getting here from 6.30am and walk across the field, as a lot of the residents do. A few get the Fastrack bus but the hospital car parks are usually full by 9am, except at weekends when they are quite empty till visiting time.

“The hospital has fields all around but the council will not let them build more car parks even though they let the Fastrack take a chunk.”

Mr Rayner is also concerned that the speed limit on the densely-populated Fleet Estate is still 30mph, and said more needs to be done to stop it being used as a race track.

He has contacted Dartford MP Gareth Johnson, who said there were increasing problems with parking on some parts of the estate and that it was “clearly unacceptable” for emergency vehicles to be delayed.

Mr Johnson added: “I have met a number of residents who are very concerned about the inconsiderate actions of some people who effectively block the road.
“I am working with both the local councillors and Darent Valley Hospital to try to find a solution to the problem.”

Dartford council leader Jeremy Kite (Con) said he had every sympathy with Mr Rayner and that the problem stemmed from insufficient parking and high charges at the hospital.
But he said imposing parking restrictions on Fleet Estate could have an impact on residents’ parking in their own streets.

“It’s far better for the solution to come from within the hospital,” added Cllr Kite. “I believe that sensible parking arrangements ought to be part of the contractual arrangement with hospital staff but it’s not something we’ve been able to persuade the hospital to do.”

Darent Valley Hospital often comes under fire over the lack of parking spaces, waiting times to park and fees, which were also recently increased.

But a spokesman said it hoped to start work next year on creating around 300 extra spaces.
He said: “We do not condone parking in any way that is likely to cause danger or obstruction. Such incidents need to be dealt with by the proper authorities who have the power to take legal action against the perpetrators.

“We are doing much to improve parking on site as the demand for hospital services increases. Unfortunately, there is no quick and easy answer as we are already using every available area on site. Working with Vinci Park, the company that operates parking at Darent Valley, we have already built an extra 101 spaces with another 42 near completion.
“We also intend to build a level above the staff car park providing around 300 extra public and staff spaces..”

The spokesman added while staff were asked to park with consideration when parking off-site, the hospital could not control either staff or visitor parking outside the hospital grounds.