Local doctors, Councillors and many members of the community, have expressed their disgust at the introduction of parking charges at Ross Community Hospital without any consultation.

Dr Lennane, at Alton Street Surgery, which shares the hospital car park told the Ross Gazette: “We are very disappointed not to have been consulted or informed about this by Wye Valley Trust, who own the car park. We are concerned about the impact on patients and staff at both our surgery and Ross Hospital, as well as safety issues from people parking on nearby roads, and the inevitable knock on effects on nearby residents. We would have liked to have been involved in this decision, but will work with WVT to try and minimise the effects on our patients.”

Paul Deneen, OBE DL JP, former Chairman of the Ross-on-Wye Community Hospital Campaign Team, which successfully fought for the new hospital, said he was: “hugely disappointed to read that the Wye Valley NHS Trust’s intention to introduce parking charges at the Community Hospital.”

He said that the introduction of car park charges is, in effect, an additional “tax on the sick.”

Wye Valley NHS Trust will be introducing parking charges at its community hospitals in Ross-on-Wye, Bromyard and Leominster.

The car parks will become pay and display on Monday, July 10th, and the cost of parking starts at £1 per hour, rising to £2.50 for four hours and £5 for 24 hour parking.

Phil Cutter, who is the Herefordshire County Councillor for Ross East Ward, where Ross-on-Wye Community Hospital is located, said that the forthcoming parking charges are “all wrong.”

“I am totally opposed to these costs,” Cllr Cutter told the Ross Gazette. “I was never consulted, as the local Ward Councillor, to talk about the charges on behalf of the people of Ross, who I represent.”

He added that he had not known about the parking charges until the news broke online last week.

Cllr Cutter said that the parking charges could put even more of an emotional strain on residents who needed to access the hospital, either as patients or visiting loved ones in the hospital wards.

Local resident and a patient at Alton Street Surgery, Gwyneth Gill, also raised the issue of people using their parking tickets to the full. She said: “If people have paid for parking for a certain time they will want value for their parking fee, and could foreseeably decide to walk into town and not leave immediately. Thus there will not be the flow of patients’ cars in and out of the car park as at present, and parking will become more difficult to find.”

Local MP Jesse Norman told the Ross Gazette: “This is a matter of very serious concern to local people. I am working closely with the Wye Valley Trust and Alton Street Surgery to try to find a solution that works for everyone.”

The charges will be at a reduced rate, compared to charges at Hereford County Hospital and will reflect the cost of parking in the market towns.

Christian Homersley, head of estates, facilities and capital planning at the Trust commented: “We have considered the introduction of parking charges for several years but we feel the time is right to introduce the charges now.

“We’ve kept the charges low but hope they will act as a disincentive to dishonest motorists who we know currently abuse our free car parking, sometimes leaving patients without anywhere close to park.” He added: “The dire state of the Trust’s finances is well documented, and we’re sure that those using our services at our community sites will have some sympathy and understand and appreciate the rationale for the decision.”

Parking concessions will be available for patients who meet certain criteria and a staff parking permit system is to be introduced later this summer.