Travelling by car
Ahead of your appointment or visit, please check how you can best travel to our hospital site.
Make sure you leave plenty of time so as not to miss your appointment. We strongly recommend you use the Park and Ride service as the easiest way to travel to the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Park and Ride Service
The service PR3 travels to the Countess of Chester Hospital with a special ticket price of £1.50*
- Monday - Saturday: every 15/20 minutes, last bus 7pm
- Sundays and public holidays: every 15 minutes, last bus 5.30pm
Park and Ride services do not operate on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day.
The service runs from: Upton (Zoo) Park and Ride - Liverpool Road (for Countess Hospital) – Liverpool Road Abbotts Grange (for University) – Bus Interchange – Foregate Street stop BB (for shops and visitor attractions) – Liverpool Road Abbotts Grange – Liverpool Road (Countess Hospital) - Upton (Zoo) Park & Ride.
*Over 2,400 parking spaces are available free of charge across the three park and ride services. Tickets are discounted for passengers travelling to the Countess of Chester Hospital, costing £1.50 from the Upton and Wrexham Road sites and £2.50 from Boughton Heath.
Find out more here: https://bit.ly/3x7bkUG
Important information to be aware of when driving to the Countess of Chester Hospital - Severn Trent Water Maintenance
From Monday, January 8 2024, Sandy Lane in Great Boughton will be closed for a period of almost 12 months while Severn Trent Water carry out work to install new water pipes in the Chester area. Sandy Lane will close on January 8 and the whole project is due to be finished by mid December 2024.
Work is progressing well along Sandy Lane, between the Dee Banks fork junction and Walmoor Park. This section of work is due to be completed by Saturday 14 September 2024. Please note that these dates may change due to progress by the team.
As you may be aware on Monday 19 August 2024, Dee Banks was opened, and a traffic light system is in place on the junction of Sandy Lane/Dee Banks fork junction and Letterbox Lane. To enable traffic to flow a parking restriction is currently in place along Dee Banks, between Letterbox Lane and Walmoor Mews. This arrangement will be monitored by Cheshire West and Chester Council. If it becomes apparent that motorists are ignoring these red lights, the Council’s Highways Service will need to introduce a one-way system, allowing traffic into Huntington (flowing south) but not out (northbound).These measures will be needed until we return to Chester Road at Caldy Brook to connect a section of pipe. The date for this work to start will be confirmed shortly.
Further updates and information can be found on Severn Trent Water's website.
Blue Badge parking
Parking at the rear of the hospital (Haygarth Unit)
Free parking
Assisted parking
Car parking
There are two main carparks on site that are operated by a multi-payment system that includes cash, card, contactless and app payment facilities. It is also ticketless and uses automated number plate recognition (ANPR).
A virtual payment system has also been introduced, allowing visitors to pay online, reducing queues at the pay machines and adding extra convenience.
Visitors can simply scan a QR code advertised throughout the hospital with their phone, enter their registration number and select their preferred payment option via Google, Apple or card.
Please click on the image to enlarge.
The technology means that tickets are no longer needed as the ANPR system simply asks users to key in their car registration number at the pay station before being provided with the option of paying by cash, card or contactless.
We have an excellent record on vehicle protection with barrier entry and exit, 24 hour staffed security and CCTV coverage.
The system allows a 30 minute drop off facility for all car park users. If a car park is full the 30 minute free facility will allow you to exit to try other car parks instead of waiting for a vacant space.
The following charges apply:
- First 30 minutes FREE
- up to 4 hours £3.50
- 5 to 8 hours £5
- More than 8 hours £7
If you are travelling on the M56, at junction 15 take the M53 to junction 12. At the roundabout take the exit signed Chester. At the next roundabout take the third exit and follow the signs to the hospital.
Blue Badge parking
We have designated Blue badge Car Parks by our main entrance and adjacent to the Emergency Department.
Parking for Blue Badge Holders in Blue Badge designated Car Parks is FREE and a blue badge is required to be displayed at all times when the vehicle is parked.
All Blue Badge holders, please visit the security podium which has been moved to the main entrance of the Countess of Chester Hospital, for any parking queries or assistance, including registering your vehicle.
The podium is staffed Monday to Friday from 7am - 4pm and is the central point for all access control and parking related queries. This location is more convenient and closer to the main routes patients take when entering and leaving hospital.
Parking at the rear of the hospital (Haygarth Unit)
The Trust has in place a solar-powered Pay & Display machine for patients and visitors parking at the Haygarth Building.
The prices for this is different as we cannot provide a 30 minute grace time and is as follows:
Haygarth Parking
- Up to two hours - £2
- Two to five hours - £3
- Five to seven hours £5
- Over seven hours - £7
Free parking
Any patients who qualify for an exemption should visit the Security Office on G9 corridor with proof of your exemption.
Those who qualify for free parking:
- The Trust supports patients on certain benefits in line with NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme (HTCS)
- Families on Critical Care can have up to a maximum of three vehicles endorsed whilst patient is on this ward. Forms authorising this to be collected from the Ward and taken to the Security Office to be authorised by Security Management
- Families of patients on Palliative Care can have up to a maximum of three vehicles endorsed (procedure then as above for Critical Care)
- Kidney dialysis patients
- Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
In the above situations, forms should be taken to the Security Office.
Assisted parking
Assisted parking enables patients or visitors to purchase a parking pass from the car park Pay stations from a single transaction that incorporates unlimited visits on a weekly or monthly basis using our Saver menu:
- Weekly saver = £10.00
- Monthly saver = £30.00
Patients / visitors are advised to ask the nurse in charge or a member of the Security staff if they feel they qualify for an exemption among those criteria listed above. In addition, the Trust takes everyone’s individual circumstances into consideration, so if you feel you should be exempt from a car parking charge and your circumstances are not listed above, the Trust will consider an exemption if it is deemed appropriate.
*Please note* Cars that are found not to be parked in official car parks or are inappropriately parked in disabled spaces will be issued with a Civil Enforcement Notice (parking ticket) and will incur a charge of £30 - this will be reduced to £15 if paid within 14 days.
It should also be noted that access for emergency vehicles has to be maintained as a priority at all times.
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