Row over smartphone carpark
ELDERLY visitors to a health centre are struggling to use nearby carpark because payment has to be made digitally, it has been claimed .
The land off Gilmore Street, Shaw Heath, had been a car park for the Florist pub – which closed around a year ago – and has since been used by members of the public.
It is particularly popular for visitors to nearby Shaw Heath Medical Centre, many of whom are elderly or have decreased mobility.
But a new payment method - previously it was free - has been introduced whereby drivers are only able to pay via Smartphone or a computer.
Len Spierenburg, 66, from Adswood, has podiatry appointments at the centre, on Randolph Place.
He said: “It is a busy medical centre so there is very rarely anywhere to park in the centre’s car park so you go over the road.
“It is a problem, the majority of people who use the health centre are of a certain age and perhaps of decreased mobility and don’t have Smartphones.
“They can also be unwilling to give out bank details so it ends up being discriminatory.
“The solution is to put a machine in or have free blue badge parking.
“It was free, that you have to pay now doesn’t matter. But I’ve heard a lot of people at the centre complaining about the way that you have to pay and now you have to park a long way away.”
The car park is managed by a company called Just Park on behalf of its owners, who live in another area of the UK so cannot visit regularly.
The company took over looking after the site at the end of summer and Len, who is retired, has already raised the issue with its staff.
Just Park has confirmed it manages the site but did not confirm the identity of the owner.
Sarah Calvert, from the company, said: “It is a private pice of land, people were parking there and the landowner contacted us and wanted a digital solution to manage the car park.
“We understand and do sympathise but it is not a decision we take, the owners are not local and wanted to make sure the site was not being misused.
“The land was never designed to be a car park for the health centre. It is also possible to pay using a computer.”