New ambulance station planned for underused Hazel Grove Park & Ride

Stockport Council have submitted plans to build a new ambulance station on the site of the current Park & Ride bus terminus in Hazel Grove.

The site, off the junction of Buxton Road (A6) and Macclesfield Road, currently comprises a 1.4 hectare car park and bus station, operated by bus operator, Stagecoach, and is the terminus of the regular 192 route between Hazel Grove, Stockport town centre and Manchester city centre.

The Park & Ride facility is considered to no longer be financially viable for Stagecoach and there are no plans to relocate the facility if the site is redeveloped.

Stockport Council are proposing to convert the site, which is currently underused as a Park & Ride for 192 passengers, into a new hub for the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) NHS Trust. The trust serves a region of 7 million people across 14,000 sq km and is currently based off Travis Brow near the Pyramid motorway junction, but has outgrown its existing premises. A new ambulance station aims to improve facilities for the trust’s staff and improve service provision in the Stockport area.

Plans for ambulance station propose a two-storey office building for NWAS staff, housing offices, meeting rooms, a staff dining / rest room, storage for equipment and medicines, a vehicle preparation area, and staff lockers and showers. On-site parking is also proposed for 48 staff and visitor parking spaces (including seven EV charging spaces) as well as ambulance parking for 31 vehicles.

A second phase of development at the site has also been outlined, expanding on the ambulance station to create a modern ‘hub’ for NWAS at the Hazel Grove site, that if approved, could become operational by 2029, while the new ambulance station is hoped to complete by the end of 2024.

AEW are architects on the proposals, with Paul Butler Associates acting as planning consultants to Stockport Council.