New Cross Hospital £100k bill for staff car parking
New Cross Hospital has spent almost £100,000 renting extra parking spaces for staff in the past four years because of a lack of spaces on site, it was revealed today.
Chiefs shelled out £99,903 to use spaces at the nearby Prestwood Arms car park from January to November 2009, the Village Inn from April 2010 to March last year, and a private car park for Newhall Farm on Wednesfield Road, for the past 18 months.
The spending was needed to make up the 1,900 spaces needed for staff working at the site.
It comes as a planning application was submitted by the owners of the Wednesfield Road hospital site to allow the continued use of its 98 parking spaces for hospital workers.
Graham Argent, divisional manager for estates and facilities at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital Trust, which runs New Cross, said: "We started using the site off Wednesfield Road when it became available around 18 months ago.
"One of the reasons we provide off-site parking for staff is to make as much on-site car parking space as possible available for patients and their visitors, close to the wards and departments they need to visit."
It is expected a £3.5 million car park extension at the site, which is due to start this month, will help cope with the demand from staff.
The hospital has been plagued by car parking problems for many years. Earlier this year charges for patients were increased by 50 per cent to £2 an hour and free parking for disabled users was scrapped for the first time.
The new car park will have between 100 and 250 spaces. Mr Argent added: "There are ongoing discussions with our Patient Forum and residents about maximising the effectiveness of parking at the hospital."
