Ticketless Darlington hospital parking 'will not fix' problems

Work to introduce new parking arrangements at Darlington Memorial Hospital (DMH) began on Monday, March 9.

A ticketless parking system using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) will be rolled out over the coming months.

The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust promises to provide clear signage and on-site support to assist anyone confused by the new parking arrangements.

In a post on its website, the trust said: “We will share further updates, including confirmed go-live dates, as the project progresses.

"Thank you for your patience while we make improvements to parking at DMH.”

null (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

However, many residents voiced their concerns over the new system.

Ian Farrell said: "This won't fix the parking as the site is clearly not big enough to cope with all the people needing to use the hospital."

He suggested that a park-and-ride system, similar to the one in Durham, could be a workable solution.

Elaine Waller believes the issue lies not in ticket machines but in the number of available parking bays. "They need more parking bays; the ticket machines are not the main issue here," she said.

There have also been calls for a multi-storey car park to accommodate more vehicles.

null (Image: Steven Fruitsmaak)

Meanwhile some residents including Andy Flint, expressed parking should be free for those visiting.

Lee Coutts suggested: "How about we reduce the congestion with a park and ride set up."

Julie Todd added a light-hearted comment regarding the new system, noting: "Now we know why so many cars, mainly BMWs have their front number plates missing."

The ongoing parking issues have led many to call for better facilities and management, as expressed by Sarah-louise Guy, who remarked: "The current DMH is not fit for purpose."