AROUND 50 people poured into Knutsford Community Hospital last week to hear what East Cheshire NHS Trust had to say about the site’s new paid-for parking scheme.

John Wilbraham, chief executive of the East Cheshire NHS Trust, hosted a public engagement meeting to discuss changes to parking at the Bexton Road hospital on Tuesday November 18.

Under new regulations, motorists will be charged a minimum of £2.20 for parking at the hospital, with management company ParkingEye set to issue £70 fine penalties to anyone found flouting the rules.

Many Knutsfordians have been vocal about their opposition to the charges and it seems that Tuesday’s meeting did nothing to quell this feeling. Patrick Mearing, from Masters Court, said that the introduction of ‘all day’ or ‘weekly tickets’ would only defeat the scheme’s purpose to prevent the misuse of parking spaces meant for patients, staff and visitors.

“It these tickets are taken up by people working in Knutsford then there will be far fewer parking spaces for patients, especially during the crucial times,” he added. Other attendees highlighted that charging for parking at the facility would only displace the existing parked vehicles.

Health campaigner Charlotte Peters Rock said: “So will surrounding roads be even more packed by vehicles? We have already had the position where a fire engine could not access the hospital because of parked cars, blocking surrounding roads.

“Luckily that was a false alarm but if there was any urgent need for help, how much worse will the situation have become once such iniquitous charges are imposed?”

Malvern Road resident Mabs Taylor echoed Charlotte’s concerns. She said: “The problems of Bexton Road are well known and what we have today is a section of road which is more a parking lot than a road, with local residents already fed up to the back teeth with cars parking on their roads and causing obstructions.

“So goodness knows how they will react if this pay parking scheme goes ahead and patients unwilling to pay to park at the hospital exacerbate things further by trying to park on nearby residential streets.”

An East Cheshire NHS Trust spokesperson said that all views aired at Tuesday’s meeting will be put to the trust’s board for further discussion and consideration.  The spokesperson added that residents will be kept updated of this process.