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Free parking extended for Health and Social Care staff

29th July 2021

Health Minister Robin Swann is extending free car parking for HSC staff until 31 August, after which time normal charging will resume.

The arrangements for staff in Belfast Trust are as follows:

Staff who pay for parking as a salary deduction

All staff who previously paid for parking through a salary deduction will continue to use their passes to park free of charge until 1 September 2021.

Staff who had been issued with a free car park pass

Staff who have been issued with temporary car parking passes on the Royal Hospitals, City Hospital and Mater Hospital sites will have their access automatically extended to 31 August 2021.

Because demand for free passes on the Royal Hospitals site exceeds the available parking capacity, activity on the temporary passes is monitored to ensure the spaces are being used only by those staff who work shifts that are not supported by the Park and Ride services or by public transport.

Park and Ride

The Park and Ride service from Blacks Road will continue to operate from 7am to 6.30pm. Details of collection points and a timetable are available here.

The Park and Ride service that operates from the Springvale Business Park will stop on Friday 30 July.

To facilitate staff working at night and weekends when the Park and Ride service is not in operation, the suspension of parking enforcement measures in the set down areas and permit parking zones between 6pm and 8am, Monday to Friday, and over 24 hours at the weekend, has been extended to 31 August 2021.

Crumlin Road Gaol car park

While the Trust is still in negotiation with the DfI about continuing to use Crumlin Road Gaol car park, this facility may not be available after 31 July 2021. Further updates will be provided.

Park Centre car park

Staff who have been allocated parking in the Park Centre can continue to do so until 31 August. Please be aware, parking there without authorisation will result in a fixed penalty being issued by Park Centre.

Public transport

Public transport remains free on presentation of an HSC pass and staff are advised to take full advantage of this opportunity.

Reclaiming parking costs through HRPTS

Usually the only circumstances in which staff can reclaim parking expenses through HRPTS for parking in a Trust car park are:

  • they have had to park at a location other than their base, for example:
    • to provide a service
    • to attend a meeting
    • to participate in training

For the duration of the Minister’s free parking arrangements however, staff who have not been issued a free pass on the Royal Hospitals site and who are required to work a shift that is not supported by the Park and Ride service can reclaim the cost of parking for that shift.

All of these arrangements to meet the Health Minister’s announcement of free parking will be kept under review to ensure the impact on patients, visitors and staff is kept to a minimum.

Further information on planned changes to parking access is available here.