Issue date: 18^th February 2010

Cllr Roma Mills has welcomed a new NHS consultation exercise as the latest step towards the abolition of parking charges for hospital in-patients. Cllr Mills, who represents the Batchwood ward which includes the City Hospital, believes that scrapping parking fees on the site would go a long way to easing the congestion suffered by residents on nearby streets.

Roma Mills, who is also Labour’s Parliamentary candidate, said: “The consultation that has been announced by the Department for Health shows that they are serious about ending most hospital parking charges. This is not just good news for those unfortunate enough to have to visit hospital, it should also be a welcome relief for people living on local roads. At the moment lots of visitors and staff at the hospital use streets such as Alban Avenue, Eleanor Avenue, Margaret Avenue and Batchwood View to avoid the charges and residents have voted for a local Controlled Parking Zone to get some relief. This is likely to mean that the hospital cars will move into other roads and cause similar problems for other residents."

Roma Mills is urging anyone with views on the subject to get involved in the consultation via the consultations section of the Department of Health website: www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/index.htm.

She added: “These charges are effectively a tax on illness – it’s time they were phased out.”