Wolverhampton hospital car park charges 'lose' £50k
At least £50,000 has been lost at Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital due to people going through parking barriers without paying.
Chiefs at the Wednesfield site said a combination of barrier failures and money being uncollected resulted in the £50,000 hole.
They said the figure was a 'conservative' estimate. Parking has long been a controversial issue in and around New Cross, with bosses causing furore when they doubled charges for short-stay visitors and scrapped free parking for disabled people.
Nearby streets are often clogged with cars belonging to staff and patients – with the situation so bad that a public consultation is being launched looking at introducing parking meters and restrictions.
In a bid to resolve the issue bosses have spent £4million on a new 500-space multi-storey car park, but even chief executive David Loughton branded that a 'waste of money' as he wants his staff to use public transport to travel to work.
Mr Loughton said of the figures: "The money comes from when the barriers are broken and people drive straight through, or from money not being collected. It's a high figure and we're looking into it."
During a meeting of trust board members yesterday, chief operating officer Gwen Nuttall said: "The estates and facilities department estimate £50,000 has been lost.
"They do believe that's possibly a conservative estimate."
It was recently revealed almost 4,000 parking tickets have been handed out at New Cross in the past year – more than twice the number in the previous year. Visitors to the site are currently charged £2.20 to park for one hour, while between one and three hours costs £3.20. From three to five hours it's £4.20, while up to 24 hours is £5.20 and a weekly ticket is £14.
As part of the hospital's new £28m emergency centre – incorporating an A&E department and a walk-in centre – staff will be encouraged to cycle to work.
