CONCERNS have been raised that visitors to Okehampton Community Hospital attempting to dodge recently introduced parking charges are causing a safety hazard on the adjoining road. Pay and display car parking was introduced at the hospital this summer but some users, whether patients or visitors, appear unwilling to pay the 60p per hour charge and have been parking along Cavell Way. A resident of Quarry Fields, who wished to remain anonymous, contacted the Times to bemoan the 'few stingy users' whose inconsiderate parking was causing a traffic hazard. Residents of Quarry Fields have to use Cavell Way to enter the estate — a manoeuvre made more difficult if a row of cars is parked along the road. The local resident detailed one incident where on turning into Cavell Way from Link Road, they were met by a car coming along Cavell Way which had to drive on the wrong side of the road because of all the cars parked along the way. The resident had to slam on their brakes and wait on the junction of Link Road until the car had passed enough to allow them to come in off the main road. In a letter to the Times, the concerned local said: 'When coming out of Quarry Fields, the cars are parking so close to the junction that the visibility is so poor you cannot see if a car is coming along the road until it is too late.' The letter also raised concerns that ambulances having to use the road could struggle to turn into and come out of the hospital drive with cars parked directly opposite. The letter added that it was always possible to tell when visiting hours were taking place at the hospital because of the number of vehicles parked along the surrounding road. Mid Devon Primary Care Trust introduced the parking charges earlier this year because it said a considerable amount of time was being spent by staff managing inconsiderate and even potentially dangerous parking at its hospitals. The ticket machines were introduced at Okehampton with a tariff of 60p an hour — up to a maximum of £2.40 a day. The trust say the revenue from car parking charges is reinvested in local NHS services, once a small portion is deducted to cover the costs of enforcement. Nick Pearson, a spokesperson for the PCT, said: 'Everybody has a responsibility to park sensibly. There are plenty of spaces in the hospital car park and the trust would encourage people travelling to hospital by car to think twice before they park outside the hospital car park.' Mr Pearson said since the hospital first opened, there had always been an issue with people parking in Cavell Way, so it was difficult to say if the introduction of parking charges had made a difference to the level of parking in the road. The trust said ambulance crews had not raised any concerns about access to and from the hospital drive.
