HOPES of expanding parking space at Darlington Memorial Hospital may not be realised until a major development on the edge of the town is completed.

South Durham NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, has been seeking extra parking capacity for a number of years. The problem is such that the trust now has a waiting list for spaces for staff.

Plans to develop the West Park area of Darlington at Faverdale, include providing a replacement on the site for the Pierremont Unit, Darlington Memorial Hospital's psychiatric wing.

Trust chief executive John Saxby believes this may eventually create the option for more spaces.

He said: "We are not going to be allowed to put more car parking spaces on site. Possibly when the Pierremont Unit goes off-site in three or four years time we can."