Bristol GP surgery asks council to scrap planned parking charges

GPs said they were worried the charges might deter patients from using the surgery in Westbury-on-Trym, resulting in more home visits being booked

GPs have submitted a request to the council to abandon plans to charge for community parking to help patients attending surgery appointments.

Residents and councillors campaigned for Bristol City Council to halt pay and display plans at Westbury Hill car park in Westbury-on-Trym.

The council has now agreed to consult the community about parking charges.

It follows complaints about the potential impact on GP patients, churchgoers and short-stay shoppers.

The charges have yet to be introduced but Bristol City Council has said it will investigate "alternative cost-neutral parking charges", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Westbury-on-Trym Primary Care Centre has joined locals in urging Bristol City Council to keep the first hour free, while increasing fees for longer stays to help provide roughly the same revenue.

Opposition Conservative councillors have tabled a motion to full council demanding a compromise and proper consultation with communities who use the 10 suburban car parks where charges are being introduced.

Tory group leader councillor Mark Weston said the "misconceived idea" would harm shopping centres, volunteer and faith groups, and would impact residents who relied on nearby public services, such as medical clinics and community centres.

'Problematic'

In a statement to full council in February, Westbury-on-Trym Primary Care Centre, which has 12,000 patients in its books, said: "We are concerned that charging for parking will deter patients from attending appointments and potentially increase the number of home visits GPs will need to accommodate in an already over-stretched service."

The surgery suggested free parking for the first hour and a £2 charge per hour thereafter.

It said making only the first 30 minutes free would be "problematic" because many appointments took longer, such as chronic disease reviews and complex wound dressings.

A council spokesperson said: "To achieve our ambition for net zero by 2030 we need to change the way we travel as a city and encourage a shift to active and sustainable modes of transport.

"Introducing changes to our district car parks supports these aims and will see the money raised going towards helping us to run and maintain our car parks so they are available for communities to use."