THE Mayor of Warrington’s official car was parked on a footpath outside the main entrance to the town’s hospital – while hundreds of people visiting patients paid to use the hospital car park.
A disgruntled member of Warrington-Worldwide’s Readers’ Forum, who was visiting his 86-year-old mother, took a 
picture of the Mayoral Jaguar as he arrived at the hospital.
When he left, it was still there but had been turned around.
“The driver appeared to be fast asleep behind the wheel, much to the amusement of lots of people coming out of the hospital!” he said.
“The car was parked on a pedestrian flagged area – surely a breach of health and safety regulations to park a two ton Jaguar on a footpath?”
The Forum member, who said he had paid to use the hospital car park 15 times in a month, asked why the Mayoral car could not use the car park like everyone else.
“Are he and his driver above the rules the rest of us have to obey?”
Other members of the Forum backed the irate member’s demand for an apology from the Mayor or his driver.
But a spokeswoman for the borough council said: “On the evening in question the Mayor of Warrington was attending an official engagement at Warrington Hospital and the vehicle was parked near to the entrance for the security of the civic regalia.”
Mayor's car parked on footpath
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About Author
Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
4 Comments
A small price to pay to have the Mayor attending a function. It does add a certain prestige if the Mayor has been to the event. It happens all the time, and the red carpet always gets rolled out.
No doubt the same person complaining, would object if the car was parked elsewhere, or a space on the main carpark reserved for such an occasion.
The bonus being, that the ratepayer did NOT have to pay for the parking ticket.
“A small price to pay to have the Mayor attenging a function” ??????????????????
In opposed to the £2.50 parking fee which has to be paid by EVERY member of the public EVERY TIME they visit their sick or dying loved ones or have an appointment.
Isn’t attending functions part of the Mayors job anyway? Of course it adds prestige to an event and I’m sure no-one is disputing that.
However there is NO excuse for illegal parking… and I’m sure WBC traffic wardens will validate that comment 🙂
Just a thought, isn’t the hospital deemed to be private land, and therefore outside of the domain of traffic wardens. Parking enforcement would be a matter for the hospital, and one assumes that they approved the Mayoral car being parked where it was.
The point is that if I or any other member of the public were to park in that place, we would be branded as thoughtless and irrisponsible.