New parking system to be launched at Telford's PRH

A new parking system is to be introduced at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford next week.

From Wednesday 8 June 2016, a new automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system will be launched to manage car parking at PRH. The same system is already in use at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Julia Clarke, Director of Corporate Governance at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs PRH and RSH, said: “We know parking is one of the things our patients and visitors, and our staff, want us to look at and we are constantly looking at ways we can improve this for everybody who uses our hospitals.

“The ANPR system is being successfully used at RSH. We have spent some time making sure we have resolved most of the teething issues which you get when you introduce any new system.

“The Trust has been proactive in tackling parking issues at its hospitals by encouraging more staff to think of alternative ways of getting to work. People who car share are being offered ‘premium’ car parking spaces and more cycle shelters have been installed at both sites, with improvements made to shower and changing facilities to encourage more people to cycle to work.

“We have also negotiated staff discounts of up to 20% on bus tickets with Arriva.

“Other initiatives, including a ‘Pay-as-you-Park’ system with staff only being charged for the days their vehicles are on-site, will be introduced soon to encourage our workforce to leave their cars at home.”

ANPR works by recording your vehicle registration when you enter and exit the car parks. It offers visitors a variety of different ways to pay. Users can pay by cash, debit or credit card; or over the telephone or online when they get home.

On the day ANPR is introduced at PRH, staff from CP Plus, which manages the public car parking areas for the Trust, will be on hand to help people find out where to park and to help with any issues operating the new machines.

There will be no change in parking prices.