Fury over parking fee plan for hospital staff

Residents living near a Black Country hospital have hit out at plans to charge staff to use a £6million multi-storey car park.

They say the move will herald years of parking misery outside their homes. The car park at Russells Hall Hospital was hailed as the cure for the problem by bosses.

But homeowners criticised the decision to charge nurses and doctors to leave their cars at the multi-storey, saying staff would shun it in favour of free places in nearby streets.

Councillors are calling for parking permits to be introduced on roads around the hospital to stop them getting clogged up.

But they admit many people may be unwilling to pay to park in their own street.

Furious residents are currently struggling to find places to park outside their homes.

The main problem areas are Milton Street, Tennyson Street, Byron Street, Elgar Crescent and Albert Street.

Barbara Cooper, aged 73, of Albert Street, said some cars parked outside her house for eight hours a day.

She said: "It's a very big problem - it's absolute chaos here some days.

"Everyone along this road hasn't got a drive to park on, so by the time they get home from work all the spaces have gone.

"There are parents with babies who can't even get anywhere near their homes — it's terrible for them when it's cold and raining."

Councillor Judy Foster, who represents Brockmoor and Pensnett ward, said she would call for permits to be introduced at the North Dudley Area Committee meeting in October.

She said: "The issue of cost hasn't come up then — it would depend how much residents would be expected to pay for a permit.

"We need to look at these possible solutions, though."

Mrs Cooper, a retired job centre worker, said residents were so desperate they would be willing to pay for a permit.

She added: "It's not fair for staff to have to pay to park at work so that is surely going to make the problem on our road worse."

New fees, including an all-day £5 charge, have been introduced for visitors at the main car park. People parking for more than three hours face a rise of more than 40 per cent.