Car parking to remain free at Buxton's hospitals

On Friday April 1 the government scrapped free parking for NHS staff which was issued as a thank you for their hard work during the pandemic.

However, parking at the town’s two hospitals - the Cavendish and Buxton Hospital - will continue to remain free, bosses have said.

Rebecca Beedie, Media Manager for Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, said: “All our hospital car parks have always been free and will remain free.

"That applies to community hospital sites across Derbyshire which we run, including Buxton and Cavendish.”

Parking fees were waived nationally in March 2020, after more than 400,000 people signed a petition calling for free parking for NHS workers.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the pandemic had now moved to a new stage and the free parking will be stopped after costing the government around £130m over nearly two years.

But the trust’s vow means that at all the hospitals it operates – Belper’s Babington Hospital; Buxton Hospital; Cavendish Hospital, Buxton; Clay Cross Hospital; Ilkeston Community Hospital; Ripley Hospital; and Whitworth Hospital, Matlock - parking will remain free.

Kate Casey, Fenton ward manager at the Cavendish Hospital, was pleased the trust has decided to keep parking free.

She said: "It’s a nice little recognition for the work we do and no one wants to be paying out just so they can come to work.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. – Louise Cooper, editor.