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02
Dec 2021
Harrogate doctor's surgery defends parking fines
The practice manager of Kingswood Surgery on Wetherby Road has said it's necessary to issue parking fines for its car park to deter non-patients from using it.
Kingswood Surgery and Well Pharmacy are separate entities that happen to share the same building called Kingswood Medical Centre.
On Tuesday, the Stray Ferret reported how a woman collecting a prescription at Well Pharmacy was fined £100 for parking longer than the allowed 15 minutes of free parking for non-patients of the surgery.
Shirley Hopkinson said the short time period was unfair on people collecting prescriptions when the pharmacy was busy.
However, Liz Walker, practice manager at Kingswood Surgery, said patients of the surgery, rather than visitors to the pharmacy, had priority for the car park.
Difficult to park
Ms Walker told the Stray Ferret the car park has been managed by a private company for four-and-a-half years.
The company, called Civil Enforcement, was brought in because visitors and staff at nearby Harrogate Hospital would use the car park for extended periods of time, making it difficult for patients at the surgery to find a place to park.
Ms Barker said:
Read more:
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Ms Barker said that signs explaining the rules were well advertised and understood, and patients of the surgery were "very supportive" of the arrangements.
She added that the current system of fining non-patients who use the car park for longer than 15 minutes would not be changing.
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