April 30, 2012 10.59 am This story is over 142 months old

Hospital staff will have to pay for parking

Charges: As part of a parking overhaul, staff will now have to pay for their parking spaces.

As part of a revamp of the parking facilities at Lincoln County Hospital, members of staff will now have to pay to park their vehicles.

From May, charges for staff will range between £3.83 and £20 per month, depending on pay and roll and if they work full or part time.

A day charge is also available for staff who only occasionally bring their car to work.

The charges will also apply to the Boston, Grantham and Louth hospitals.

The plan encourages staff to lift share, use public transport or cycle to work in order to reduce the Trust’s carbon footprint.

The travel plan is part of national legislation, in which large companies must produce a travel plan to reduce the impact of traffic on the environment and local area.

Mike Speakman, Director of Facilities Management at ULHT, said: “Staff have been very understanding about the introduction of the travel plan.

“The Trust has 2,275 car parking spaces across our three main hospital sites costing £638,000 per year.

“ULHT is understood to be the only acute hospital trust in the country that does not charge staff for car parking and money the Trust is using to cover these costs could be invested in patient care.

“Any income from staff car parking charges will be reinvested into staff travel facilities.

“Transport emissions make up a significant share of our carbon emissions, and we are all keen to find ways to reduce our carbon footprint, we are confident that the travel plan will help with this.”

In addition to the charges, ULHT are looking at adding more parking spaces and improving lighting and CCTV.

Source: ULHT