Clwyd West Assembly Member Darren Millar has called on the Welsh Government to help safeguard Glan Clwyd Hospital’s park-and-ride facility which is set to be withdrawn at the end of this month.
The parking scheme, which runs from the former Hotpoint factory site in Bodelwyddan, was originally due to cease at the end of June this year, but following mounting pressure by members of the public, Darren and local Conservatives, the health board extended the contract for another four months, which means it is now due to be withdrawn in only a few weeks time.
In the Senedd this week, Darren emphasised how crucial the service is to his constituents and called on the Welsh Government to take action to save the facility.
Calling for a Welsh Government Statement on parking arrangements at Welsh hospitals, he said:
“While I fully support the free parking initiative that we have at hospitals across Wales, there is no doubt that it is causing some considerable problems in terms of parking at many of our NHS sites, not least Glan Clwyd Hospital, which serves many of my constituents.
“In a bid to alleviate some of those problems, the health board in North Wales has provided a park-and-ride facility that has been extremely popular with patients and staff. But, regrettably, the service it is set to be withdrawn at the end of this month, and I'm very concerned about the stress that that might cause, particularly for those people who are frequent users of hospital services as a result of conditions like cancer and other chronic or life-limiting illnesses.
“I urge the Welsh Government to consider any financial support that might be made available to support these popular park-and-ride schemes, which are convenient and very useful in easing the congestion problems around our hospital sites.”
In her response the Finance Minister and Trefnydd, Rebecca Evans AM, said the Health Minister is aware of the issue at Glan Clwyd and the park-and-ride facility in particular and has agreed to provide an update.
Darren added:
“It is clear from the many messages from my constituents that the Glan Clwyd park and ride facility is convenient and valued by many patients and staff members and scrapping it would be disastrous. It is therefore vital that this popular facility is protected and I will continue campaigning until it is.”