Hospital Parking Charges on Teesside & County Durham Set to Rise....
- teessidetoday
- May 21
- 2 min read
More misery for those having to visit their loved ones in hospital, as Parking Charges across Hospital Sites on Teesside & County Durham set to rise....
21st May 2025
Motorists visiting sick family, friends or loved ones are set to be hammered once more as parking charges across North Tees NHS foundation trust sites is set to be hiked.
From Monday 2 June, its said that parking charges will increase at several major hospitals serving the Teesside area, where Both North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust as well as South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are set to hike fees at their key sites — including The James Cook University Hospital, University Hospital of North Tees, and University Hospital of Hartlepool.
New Tariffs: A Breakdown
Here’s what patients and visitors can now expect to pay:
Up to 20 minutes: Free (barely enough time to drop someone off)
20 mins – 2 hrs: £3.60
2 – 4 hrs: £4.60
4 – 12 hrs: £6.60
Up to 24 hrs: £8.00
7-day permit: £10.00
Peterlee Community Hospital and the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton will have slightly lower charges — but they’re still increasing:
20 mins – 2 hrs: £2.50
2 – 4 hrs: £4.00
24 hrs: £5.00
7-day permit: £10.00
The only car park not changing? Hardwick Road opposite University Hospital of North Tees — still £2.50 for up to 14 hours after the first 20 minutes free.
Free Parking Exceptions (For Now)
Blue Badge holders
Patients attending regular outpatient appointments (e.g., chemotherapy, dialysis)
Parents staying overnight with children (7.30pm–8am)
Let’s not pretend this is a generous offer. These exemptions already existed — they're not new. For everyone else — whether visiting elderly relatives, attending for urgent care, or supporting someone in a health crisis — it’s another sad reality of the hidden costs of falling ill in modern Britain.
Why the Increase?
According to the NHS Trusts, the cost of operating and maintaining hospital car parks isn’t covered by their budget. They claim every penny raised from parking goes back into upkeep, safety, and “any surplus” goes into patient care.
In towns like Hartlepool — already hit hard by poor public transport and overstretched health services — parking charges feel like a penalty for simply needing medical help. And in many cases, there’s no alternative: people are forced to drive long distances because local services have been stripped away or centralised to James Cook or North Tees, where its claimed ordinary working-class families are the ones paying the price — literally. With rising costs of living, fuel, food, and now hospital parking, this latest charge hike is another reminder of how broken our public services have become.
Instead of tackling waste, bureaucracy, or executive pay at the top of these NHS Trusts, the solution — as always — is to squeeze a few extra pounds out of struggling people visiting the sick.
The NHS may still be "free at the point of use" — but if you go by car, it’s costing more than ever to get through the door.
