Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital parking charges to rise: Is it fair for hospitals to charge for parking?

The Royal Wolverhampton Trust put prices up in August by 20p – but has now announced a further 10p hike.

Wolverhampton Mayor Councillor Milkinder Jaspal described the increase in charges as a 'disaster'.

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The trust said parking for each band will increase by 10p, which means a £2.20 ticket will now cost £2.30. Short-stay parking for 15 minutes remains free.

There will also be an increase of 50p on the concessionary rate for a seven-day ticket, which will now cost £14.50.

Patients attending for renal dialysis receive free parking, while patients visiting the hospital for cancer treatments will pay £1.50 for all-day parking – also a 50p increase.

The new charges will come into effect from next Tuesday. Graham Argent, divisional manager for estates and facilities, said: "Parking charges at New Cross Hospital cover the cost of maintenance and security services.

"We have recently opened the new multi-storey car park and extended visitor car parking to enable the development of the new emergency centre."

The announcement comes a month after a long awaited £4 million multi-storey car park on the site was opened to the public.

The first two phases have been opened so far, with 300 parking spaces available. Once fully open, the multi-storey will have a capacity for 527 vehicles. Trust chief executive David Loughton criticised his own staff last year after it emerged that 500 workers were driving less than a kilometre to work each day.

Mr Loughton, who uses public transport to commute to New Cross every day, also branded the car park a 'waste of money'. He said staff living close to the site should use public transport.

In 2012, charges were increased by 50 per cent to £2 an hour and free parking for disabled users was scrapped for the first time