Hospital visitors cough up nearly £3million in car parking charges

Visitors to Calderdale Royal Hospital have forked out nearly £3m in parking charges over the last five years.
Calderdale Royal Hospital and inset director of estates, Lesley HillCalderdale Royal Hospital and inset director of estates, Lesley Hill
Calderdale Royal Hospital and inset director of estates, Lesley Hill

The Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust made £898,509 from parking charges in the 2016-17 financial year, a huge increase from the £564,182 it made in 2013-14.

In 2014-15 the figure was £663,701, which rose to £793,622 in 2015-16.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Charges to park at the hospital range from £2.80 for up to two hours, £5 for between two and four hours, £6 for between four and six hours and £7 for more than six hours.

In May 2016, the Trust raised the price of parking for up to two hours at the hospital from £2.50, which it said was expected to generate £270,000 a year.

The Trust also generated £2.2m in 2016 through issuing parking fines.

The Trust’s director of estates, Lesley Hill, said: “All the fees received for parking are reinvested in the provision and upkeep of our car parks and also into patient care.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“There is a 30 minute free drop off and our two-hourly rate is still one of the lowest in Yorkshire.

“We try to avoid any increases so, when we do, we aim to keep them to the minimum. There are no current plans to increase charges.”