Hospital Board to consider car park charges

The Board of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust will next Wednesday consider a proposal to change the car park charges for patients and visitors to the university hospital.

Currently, stays under 30 minutes are free and periods not exceeding two hours are charged at £1.50 for parking. The proposal to the Trust Board is to charge £2 for periods not exceeding three hours parking. Stays under 30 minutes would remain free. The change is being suggested to better reflect the amount of time out-patients/visitors may spend at the hospital.  

Equivalent patient/visitor charges for other hospitals

NNUH	Free	up to 30 minutes
	£2	up to 3
Ipswich	50p	up to 30 minutes
	£3	up to 3 hours
James Paget	£1.50	per day
Queen Elizabeth	£1.50	per day
	£3	Weekly ticket
Addenbrooke's	£2	Outpatient appointment each visit
	£2	visitor parking up to 3 hours

The board will also discuss changing the cost for staff to park on site at the university hospital. Staff are currently charged £5 a month for a parking permit and that charge has not changed since 1995. By contrast, the monthly charge for the nearby Costessey Park and Ride is £13.75.

The proposal is to charge staff  £13.75 a month for staff car park permit, to match the Park and Ride cost.  Full or part-time staff earning less than £12,000 a year would pay a lower rate of £7 per month for a staff car park permit. Income from the increased charge would only be reinvested by the Trust in transport initiatives.

Equivalent staff car park charges for other hospital/employers

Ipswich	£6 per month full time
JPH	£3 per month part time £1.50 per day (if no free spaces available)
QEH	£4.30 per month
Addenbrooke's	£11.50 per month
	(currently under review and proposals are to increase to the cheapest public transport rate.)
Norwich Union	£34.00 per month
UEA	£21.00 per month – 50% reduction rate for lower paid.

The proposals are part of a green Travel Plan being developed by the Trust following the successful application for 460 more car park spaces made to South Norfolk District Council.  Construction work for those extra spaces will be complete by Easter.

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital currently has 2,350 car park spaces, rising to 2,810 spaces from Easter.  

Media contacts: Andrew Stronach or Hayley Gerrard on 01603 287200.