🏥 GEORGE ELIOT HOSPITAL STAFF DESERVE FREE PARKING – AND OUR RESIDENTIAL STREETS NEED PROTECTING 🚗

This petition is calling on George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust (GEH) to review its staff parking policy, provide free parking for hospital staff, reconsider its one-mile staff parking restriction, and take meaningful action to reduce the displacement of vehicles onto surrounding residential streets.

This is not a campaign against doctors, nurses or other hospital employees.

Quite the opposite.

Our NHS staff go to work every day to care for our community. We believe they should have reasonable access to parking without having to pay simply to attend their place of work, while residents living around the hospital should not have to deal with additional parking pressure because adequate hospital parking is unavailable or staff are unable to obtain a permit.

🏥 WHAT HAS THE HOSPITAL TOLD US?

Following enquiries made directly to George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, the Trust has confirmed that:

• The Trust itself determines eligibility for staff parking permits.

• A one-mile radius restriction for staff parking permits was introduced in January 2025.

• Approximately 90 members of staff were affected by the introduction of that restriction.

• Exemptions include staff working 12-hour shifts, those with proven medical issues and single parents with childcare arrangements.

When the Trust was asked whether an assessment had been undertaken before introducing or changing the arrangements to consider the potential displacement of staff vehicles onto surrounding residential roads, the response from Estates was:

“Not that I'm aware of.”

The Trust subsequently explained its reasoning by stating:

“those living within a 1-mile radius without medical issues would be able to walk to work. Therefore, they would not need to use a vehicle.”

We believe this deserves proper scrutiny.

Living within one mile of your workplace does not necessarily mean that walking is a practical substitute for driving in every circumstance. Hospital employees work different shifts and have different personal circumstances and commitments before and after work.

Most importantly, if a parking policy affects approximately 90 members of staff, we believe its potential consequences for both those employees and neighbouring communities should be properly assessed.

🚗 WHAT ABOUT THE SURROUNDING RESIDENTIAL STREETS?

The Trust has confirmed that it has received complaints concerning off-site parking.

It has also provided a staff communication entitled:

“Important Reminder – Considerate and Safe Parking Off-Site”

That communication specifically refers to complaints from residents in surrounding areas including:

Cornish Crescent, Radley Road, Woburn Drive, The Wharf and Bermuda Road/Radley Drive.

The Trust's communication identifies concerns including:

• Vehicles blocking driveways and dropped kerbs;

• Obstruction of roads and restricted access for emergency services and delivery vehicles;

• Parking near junctions and corners, reducing visibility;

• Residents being unable to leave for work because access has been blocked; and

• Reports of inappropriate behaviour when concerns have been raised.

The Trust's own communication also states:

“In some cases, unsafe parking has contributed to accidents and near misses.”

The communication asks staff parking off-site to park legally and considerately and, where possible, avoid heavily affected residential areas.

We completely support asking everyone to park safely and responsibly.

But there is a bigger question:

Where are people supposed to park instead?

Simply asking employees not to park in particular residential areas does not create additional parking spaces.

🏘️ THIS IS AFFECTING THE COMMUNITY

Residents should be able to access their homes, driveways and residential streets safely.

People living near a major hospital will naturally experience some additional traffic and parking demand. However, where hospital parking policies may result in vehicles being displaced away from hospital parking facilities, we believe the Trust should properly assess and address those consequences.

This petition does not claim that every vehicle parked in Bermuda Village or the surrounding streets belongs to a GEH employee.

There are multiple sources of parking demand within the area.

What we are saying is that the Trust itself has recognised complaints concerning off-site parking, and therefore we believe it should be part of finding a practical solution.

❤️ THIS IS NOT RESIDENTS VERSUS NHS STAFF

This point is extremely important.

Hospital employees should not be blamed for trying to find somewhere to park so they can go to work.

Doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, porters, cleaners, administrative employees and countless other members of staff keep George Eliot Hospital running every single day.

We believe the underlying parking policy and parking provision need addressing rather than creating a situation where residents and hospital workers are placed against one another.

💷 WHY SHOULD NHS STAFF HAVE TO PAY TO PARK AT WORK?

We are also asking the Trust to review the principle of charging hospital employees to park at their place of work.

Our position is simple:

We believe GEH staff should have access to free parking when attending work.

These employees are travelling to the hospital to provide essential services to our community.

We recognise that operating and maintaining car parks costs money and that the Trust has financial, capacity and environmental considerations to balance.

But we believe the Trust should examine whether those costs can be met without requiring employees to pay simply to park while working.

🚶 THE ONE-MILE RULE ALSO NEEDS REVIEWING

The Trust has explained that employees living within one mile without medical issues would be able to walk to work.

But being physically capable of walking a mile does not automatically mean walking is appropriate for every employee, every shift or every individual circumstance.

It also doesn't answer the wider question of what happens in practice when someone who needs or chooses to travel by car cannot obtain an on-site permit.

If vehicles are subsequently parked on surrounding streets, the parking demand hasn't disappeared — it has simply moved somewhere else.

📢 WHAT ARE WE ASKING GEORGE ELIOT HOSPITAL NHS TRUST TO DO?

By signing this petition, we are asking George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust to:

✅ Review the one-mile staff parking permit restriction, including whether it remains appropriate and its practical impact on employees.

✅ Carry out a proper assessment of off-site parking displacement into surrounding residential areas, including Bermuda Village and other communities neighbouring the hospital.

✅ Review staff parking charges with the objective of providing free parking for GEH employees while they are at work.

✅ Investigate opportunities for additional staff parking capacity, including suitable additional land, partnerships with nearby organisations, park-and-ride arrangements or other practical alternatives.

✅ Review the availability of parking for staff working different shifts, particularly where public transport or walking may not provide a practical alternative.

✅ Engage with hospital employees and affected residents when reviewing future parking arrangements.

✅ Work with the relevant local authorities and other organisations to develop a longer-term strategy that reduces inappropriate parking on surrounding residential streets.

🤝 A SOLUTION THAT WORKS FOR STAFF AND RESIDENTS

This campaign isn't asking for hospital employees to be pushed from one residential street to another.

And it isn't asking for residents simply to tolerate increasing parking pressure.

We want a solution that addresses the problem at its source.

Give GEH employees appropriate parking.

Make that parking free for staff attending work.

Properly assess the consequences of parking restrictions.

And work with neighbouring communities to reduce displacement onto residential streets.

Our NHS staff deserve support. Our residents deserve consideration. We believe George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust can do better for both. ❤️🏥🏘️

Please sign and share this petition.

The more hospital employees, residents and members of the wider community who support it, the stronger the message will be that this issue deserves proper attention.