Welcome

Welcome to the Bedford Hospital and APCOA on-line application site for staff car parking permits at Bedford Hospital.

The staff car parking areas can be found on the hospital site map.

Please read the Trust Car Parking Policy before you apply for your staff car parking permit.

The car parking policy is designed to provide adequate, safe and convenient car parking for staff working at the hospital. The eligibility criteria for permits to park on site are based on job requirements or transport needs rather than seniority. The allocation of car parking spaces is based on demand, site geography and the need for sufficient space for visitors and patients.

Once you have registered your details here you can amend them at any time. Changes in number plates must be updated as the car park operates on an ANPR system.

You will receive a renewal notice when your permit is due to expire.

Eligibility Criteria for Staff Permit Applications:

• Registered disabled or staff with a Doctors/Occupational Health letter requesting parking rights due to a physical/mobility problem.

• Staff who work office hours and live more than three miles from the hospital.

• Staff resident more than twenty minutes cycling (three miles) distance from the hospital.

• Staff who have to use their cars off- site in the course of their work on most days, such as Community Midwives.

• Staff who have no appropriate bus route and live too far away to walk – more than four miles.

• Staff who have responsibilities as carers, such as regularly dropping off small children, which cannot be met using available public transport.

• Essential users such as Doctors and clinical staff working shifts or staff who have an on-call commitment.

• Car Sharing: Staff are encouraged to share vehicles so a right to park will be given to staff arranging their own car sharing scheme. The permit will specify all the drivers/vehicles involved in their car sharing agreement. Staff applying on this basis can only obtain this right to park if existing parking rights from at least one member of staff is given up.

• Volunteers

Staff granted a parking permit will not be allowed to park on the main hospital site at South Wing or the front area at Gilbert Hitchcock House between the hours of 08.30 to 16.00 hours – Monday to Friday.

Due to the lack of available car parking spaces at peak times, the following staff will not receive a permit to park on site:

• Staff who work 08:00 to 18:00, Monday to Friday and live within three miles of the hospital.

• Staff who work 08:00 to 18:00, Monday to Friday and live on a regular bus route into the hospital within four miles.

• Staff who work 08:00 to 18:00, Monday to Friday and live within a twenty minute cycle ride (three miles) of the hospital – with reasonable cycle routes into the hospital.

Refusals and Appeals

The Trust reserves the right to issue and withdraw staff parking rights and parking allocation.

Staff wishing to appeal on refusal of an application should do so in writing to Steve Morgan, Director of Support Services, South Wing, Kempston Road, Bedford MK42 9DJ.

Permit types:

Standard Permits

Standard permit holders can only park in the Britannia Road car parking area.

Essential Users Permits

Staff can park in the essential users’ car park in Britannia Road at any time.
This car park is situated opposite the Britannia Road entrance of the hospital, adjacent to the King’s Place public car parking area.

Daily User Permits

Daily user permit holders can only park in the Britannia Road car parking area, accessed via King’s Place Road. A daily payment to the parking machines situated within this car park is required and must be made.

Access to all these staff car parking areas is controlled by a number plate recognition system; failure to make a daily payment or staff using these areas without a permit to park will automatically get a parking enforcement notice.

Special or daily permits

Special daily permits are available to staff who have an occasional operational (work related) or other (personal) need to park and do not have a permit to park at the hospital. These special permits are available from the APCOA Parking Kiosk at South Wing. They must be signed for and a refundable £5 deposit paid.

Staff are requested to notify the car parking contractor (APCOA) if their circumstances change. New car details or new shift patterns which would affect current permit allocation must be communicated as soon as possible.

Payment Options:

Daily Payment Scheme – payable at the car parking payment machines.

Payment in full by cash/credit card/cheque – payable at the car parking kiosk.

Monthly salary deductions – via Payroll – please indicate on your permit application.

Unauthorised Parking

• Parking on double yellow lines, hatched areas, delivery areas, sustained parking in drop-off points, off-road parking and parking on pavements.

• Failure to park in a marked space.

• Parking in a designated area without the appropriate permit or ticket.

• Failure to ‘pay and display’ or parking beyond the expiry period of the permit of the pay and display ticket.

• Parking in a manner which causes obstruction to fire access routes, fire exits, roadways, footways, cycle ways and car park entrances/exits to other vehicles.

Penalties

Parking Charge Notices will be issued as per the Trust Parking Policy. The charges are £60 at full rate with a discounted rate of £30 if the PCN is paid within 14 days.