City council plans to extend parking permit scheme around Southampton hospital

It's part of a council crackdown on hospital staff parking on residential streets.

They say employees at Southampton General Hospital are parking in areas beyond the current permit scheme – causing “issues” for residents in the area.

Now road bosses at Southampton City Council have proposed to expand the permit scheme, to include new parts of Coxford, Lordswood and Upper Shirley.

It means residents in roads such as Aldermoor Road, Seagarth Lane and Dunkirk Road could be forced to pay £30-a-year to park outside their homes.

But the scheme has been backed by ward councillors for the area, including independent Coxford councillor, Tammy Thomas.

Councillor Thomas, who herself works at the hospital, said: “The residents I’ve spoken to all say they want this and I’ve not had anyone contact me to say they don’t.

“There is an issue in the area. People come home from work and they want to park outside their home.

“But I get it from both sides. There is a great park-and-ride, but some people need to drive.

“If you work at the hospital and you have kids or are a carer you need access to your car.”

City road chiefs say the move comes following a survey about the issue in 2018, which asked if residents would support a permit parking scheme in the area.

Civic chiefs say where the survey responses indicated community support, permit parking schemes are now being proposed.

These include areas west of Warren Crescent, around the Hollybrook area, parts of Maybush, Coxford and Aldermoor, as well as areas around St James’ Park.

The scheme has been backed by Bassett councillor John Hannides, who says it could help alleviate concerns of residents living near the hospital.

But the Conservative councillor has criticised Labour’s current policy of charging residents £30-a-year for their first permit.

He said: “I just think it is a shame that this Labour council feels the need to charge people for their first vehicle, essentially just to park outside their own home.

“Ultimately it is out of their control and they are being punished for living near a venue where people want to park.”

A spokesperson for University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust said: “We appreciate the impact parking among visitors who are accessing our site has on local residents and we are working closely with the council to help alleviate pressure on roads in the area.”

“We are committed to improving the situation both for residents and for the patients, visitors and staff who will be affected by further restrictions on parking and we are constantly looking at how we can meet this ongoing challenge.

“The development of an additional multi-storey car park on site and an additional 1,000-space park and ride has increased the number of staff parking spaces and, in turn, increased the availability of visitor parking on site.

“We also have a car share initiative, a park and stride option for staff which provides a space with a short walk to work, a cycle to work scheme and discounted bus travel to ensure we continue to provide as many options as possible to our staff.”

The formal 21-day public consultation is due to run until next month.

Labour’s council transport chief Jacqui Rayment was contacted for a comment.