Hospital chiefs have asked for help to build a park and ride to ease pressure at Brighton and Hove’s main hospital.
Duncan Selbie, chief executive of the trust which runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital, made the plea at a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting.
He told the council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee that he and his staff had held discussions about a park and ride scheme with council officers.
But obvious locations such as Brighton Marina and the Racecourse had been ruled out.
Mr Selbie said that the trust – Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust – had even offered to buy a car park locally.
Councillors were told that the Royal Sussex currently had 508 parking spaces.
Mr Selbie said that the trust was adding 312 spaces and would spend £10 million as part of this, creating an underground car park as the Eastern Road site is redeveloped.
At the moment many spaces were shared by staff and patients on a first come first served basis.
After the redevelopment 46 per cent of the spaces would be set aside for patients and almost half for staff.
Professor Duane Passman, who is running the Royal Sussex redevelopment project, said that the plans would enable the hospital to have a dedicated goods yard in Bristol Gate.
At the moment, he said, deliveries were made to several buildings around the site and the new service yard would relieve congestion in Abbey Road.
