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20
Oct 2024
Revealed: How much Harrogate hospital has made in parking fees under new system
Harrogate District Hospital has made more than £464,000 in parking fees after its new system was introduced last year, according to a freedom of information request.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, implemented an automated number plate recognition system car park in September 2023.
At the time, the trust said the ticketless system would help to reduce congestion on Lancaster Park Road.
According to a FoI response from the trust, which has been seen by the Stray Ferret, the hospital has received £464,938.05 in parking fees since the automated number plate recognition system was introduced.
Under its contract with Parkingeye, which lasts until October 2028, fees charged at the car park are kept by the trust. The parking company, which manages the site on the trust's behalf, makes its money from fines — also known as parking charge notices.
The FoI request also revealed that the trust has received 44 complaints regarding the new parking system since it was introduced.
It comes as the Stray Ferret has also received numerous letters and complaints that Parkingeye has issued unfair parking fines at the hospital.
One patient told us that he was issued a £70 parking fine after problems trying to pay for 45 minutes of parking at the hospital. He took his case to POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals), the independent appeals service, but his appeal was rejected and he ended up having to pay.
The Stray Ferret asked Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust how it had handled the complaints and what exactly the money received from parking charges goes towards.
A Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said:
At Harrogate District Hospital we take all complaints about parking on our site seriously.
We do occasionally receive complaints directly concerning a variety of issues, such as Parking Charge Notices (PCN), maintenance issues, signage, parking rates or the experience motorists have had with Parkingeye.
On these occasions, we will investigate the complaint and once complete we will write to the person who has made the complaint to explain our findings. Where appropriate, will do our utmost to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
Should a motorist receiving a PCN, they have the opportunity to challenge the decision through an appeal process. Parkingeye, who manage our car parks, will consider the evidence and circumstances and if it is appropriate may cancel a parking ticket.
Should the motorist still wish to contest the decision, they can contact Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA), an independent organisation that allows motorists to contest the decisions of parking operators by visiting https://www.popla.co.uk/. POPLA will look at both sides of the appeal, consider the evidence provided and ultimately decide to uphold or overturn the ruling made by the parking management company.
We hold regular contract review meetings with Parkingeye, and consider their performance and how the service can be improved further.
Revenue generated through car parking is used to cover the cost of running the car parks on the hospital site, with any unused funds re-invested back into hospital facilities and services thereby supporting the delivery of patient care.
Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
In an interview with the Stray Ferret in February, Jonathan Coulter, chief executive at the Harrogate trust, said he felt the system was better than it had been previously.
He said:
There has been teething issues, we know that and we acknowledge that.
I think if we looked back six to 12 months to what it used to be like - it’s not perfect now by any means - but it’s a lot better than what it used to be.
Stray Ferret appeal to government
In August, the Stray Ferret called on the new Labour government to introduce legislation to properly regulate the private parking industry, so that drivers are not hit with unfair parking charges.
We launched the appeal after being contacted by numerous readers who say they have been forced to pay unfair charges by Parkingeye, the national company that runs the car park at Harrogate District Hospital.
The company, which started operating the hospital car park in September 2023, does not receive any money from normal parking fees – its income from the site is derived purely from penalty charge notices, or ‘fines’.
We listed multiple complaints over the company, including claims that it “profits from their own faulty app”, and questioned the the existence of POPLA as an arbitrator of appeals.
Those victims who received unfair parking fines told us that the industry should be subject to tighter regulation.
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