BUILDING work to York Hospital's much hoped-for new car park has hit new delays, it has emerged.

Earlier this year the Evening Press revealed how traffic misery around the Wigginton Road site was likely to continue until well into 2007 after the already long-running scheme to build a car park had been set back by a further year.

Work on the site was later projected to start this May, but bosses said today that would now not happen because of fresh delays over planning consent.

Director of nursing Mike Proctor said the hospital was now in talks with City of York Council over planning permission issues because of changes to the scheme.

That meant it was not now possible to say what the timetable for the project - which had been expected to be completed early next year - would be.

"At the moment we're liaising with City of York Council's planning office," he said. "We need to have further discussions."

He said he hoped progress could be made within "a few weeks".

The new setback will mean more traffic misery for hospital users, who have been frustrated by lengthy car queues for years.

Health managers first suggested a multi-storey car park back in 1997, and tenders for a 150 parking deck were invited in 2001.

After a series of delays, full planning permission was granted in 2005 and it looked as though work was about to start last June - when a subcontractor went into liquidation and halted the project.

Bosses at the time said the scheme should be finished by spring this year, but it later emerged that date had been put back until 2007 because of changes to the design of the car park.

The scheme was being altered so it could fit in with any future building work on the hospital site.

York Hospital Unison representative Edna Mulhearn said staff would be "angry" at news the car park was being delayed yet again.

She said. "There's a big issue with parking at the hospital. People have to set off early to be guaranteed a place. It will make staff angry - it's frustrating for staff."

Yesterday the Evening Press disclosed that the car park had made £380,000 in a year.

Updated: 09:30 Thursday, March 30, 2006