Parking scheme is a dog’s breakfast (From Echo)

Parking scheme is a dog’s breakfast

11:06am Wednesday 4th January 2012 in Letters

K Hanmore’s letter (Dec 27) commenting on the Southend Hospital parking scheme is littered with inaccuracies.

Firstly, he says his residents group is non political.

Then why have Ric Morgan, an elected party political Lib Dem councillor, active on the committee?

He says councillors in areas affected by knock-on parking were consulted.

That is untrue. It never happened and officers have had to apologise to Westborough councillors for this.

He says “the current scheme isn’t perfect”, it certainly is not. It is an absolute dog’s breakfast, bringing parking misery to many families in Westborough and wider areas.

These new problems have been created by a selfish, nimby approach and a lack of real understanding of the core issue – that Southend Hospital is by its own admittance using parking charges as a “stealth tax” on its own staff and visitors.

I don’t know any other major employer which charges its own staff, many who are low paid, to park at their place of work.

Many of the staff understandably refuse to pay to park at work and consequently park in the streets in the surrounding area.

This is the issue which Southend University Hospital Residents Association has patently failed to address so far.

Martin Terry
Independent
Westborough Ward
Victoria Road
Southend