Hospital visitors urged to use front car park

14 October, 03

Managers at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds are urging people to use the front car park when they drive to the hospital for an appointment or to visit family or friends.

In the past, it was more expensive to park in the front car park than the rear car park at the back of the hospital. However, the charging structure was changed during the summer, so that people are now charged a flat rate of £2.00 per stay regardless of where they park. Hospital staff cannot use the front car park, which is reserved for visitors or patients.

"People are still driving to the rear of the hospital site to find a parking space," said Steve Moore, Director of Facilities. "At a cost of £540,000, we have recently built an extra 240 car parking spaces behind the main hospital. We now sometimes find ourselves in the silly situation where staff are unable to park at the back of the hospital but there are over 30 free spaces in the front car park.

"We would very much appreciate it if visitors to the West Suffolk Hospital used the front car park as a first resort, and only drove round to the car park at the rear of the hospital if the front one was full."