Tessa Jowell centre car park.

[lilolil]

Hello!

Need some advice please about the car park at Tessa Jowell centre.

I stupidly forgot to enter my car registration details and didn’t realise until I’d got home. I can prove I was there having tests and so that isn’t a problem as I shall try and contest the fine when it arrives.

My question is,…What if you just drive in and there are no parking spaces so you just drive straight out again? Is a fine issued then too?

Thank you!

[Penguin68]

No. You are allowed e.g. to drop patients off at the centre without incurring charges. They note the numbers of parked cars, not cars circulating or dropping off.

[Guest]

You can drop off and collect but you still have to enter your reg in machine inside, or you will get a fine.

[lilolil]

Thank you!

I went to the centre today and they gave me a proof of visit notice. I’m probably not the only ditsy person that forgets!

[Eats Dulwich]

Just reviving this thread rather than starting a new one, as there must be an obvious answer to my question that I haven't spotted so this might be resolved quickly!

I've been using Tessa Jowell recently and If the cameras in the car park pick up your number plate when you arrive and leave why do you have to put your registration in anyway - surely they have all the info they need on film to contact you if you overstay? 

[Penguin68]

It's about ensuring it's the medical facilities you are accessing, hence the sign-in actually in Tessa Jowell. And I think there are visual as well as camera checks, after all a number of people drive in and out of the car park to drop patients off. Clearly they are not parked up, so it's not relevant if they are fleetingly on camera. It's only those actually parked who need to identify themselves as patients. 

[Eats Dulwich]

18 hours ago, Penguin68 said:

It's about ensuring it's the medical facilities you are accessing, hence the sign-in actually in Tessa Jowell. And I think there are visual as well as camera checks, after all a number of people drive in and out of the car park to drop patients off. Clearly they are not parked up, so it's not relevant if they are fleetingly on camera. It's only those actually parked who need to identify themselves as patients. 

There's nothing to stop you signing in then going shopping in Lordship Lane though as long as you don't overstay you won't get a fine. 

[Sue]

9 minutes ago, Eats Dulwich said:

There's nothing to stop you signing in then going shopping in Lordship Lane though as long as you don't overstay you won't get a fine. 

This isn't supposed to be a public car park for shoppers though.

Surely it's intended for patients who aren't able to get there easily on foot or by public transport?

It isn't just the GP practice  there.There are various  clinics, and the blood test place.

Some people may be quite ill or have mobility issues. Suppose they can't get a parking space because people have parked there to go shopping?

Please don't encourage this! 

[Eats Dulwich]

2 hours ago, Sue said:

This isn't supposed to be a public car park for shoppers though.

Surely it's intended for patients who aren't able to get there easily on foot or by public transport?

It isn't just the GP practice  there.There are various  clinics, and the blood test place.

Some people may be quite ill or have mobility issues. Suppose they can't get a parking space because people have parked there to go shopping?

Please don't encourage this! 

Sorry if my post was misleading, I certainly wasn't intending to encourage it. Quite the opposite. But maybe some are doing it already. This morning i had an appointment at tessa jowell and there was nowhere to park, not for the first time. In fact i did the opposite - I parked on Lordship Lane and ran!

Edited 3 hours ago by Eats Dulwich

[Sue]

I think there needs to be better oversight of this carpark, if it is being misused.

A few large fines might help....

[Angelina]

There are a lot of car parking spaces - in order for them to all be filled, it would suggest a local event rather than unrelated shoppers.

Does the surgery have records of when the it's full? presume there is some sort of management of it. Perhaps there is a correlation to local activity or a pattern.

[Penguin68]

I go there quite regularly (don't ask), on my own behalf and as a chauffeur for family. I have never noted people parking up, going in and then straight out again once registered. Some times of day (and some days) are much busier than others, as you might expect, especially during winter vaccination season. 

[Eats Dulwich]

1 hour ago, Angelina said:

There are a lot of car parking spaces - in order for them to all be filled, it would suggest a local event rather than unrelated shoppers.

Does the surgery have records of when the it's full? presume there is some sort of management of it. Perhaps there is a correlation to local activity or a pattern.

I doubt if it was something special - it has been full a few times I've been recently and when I have been able to get a space I've been lucky and bagged the only one available. I think there are only around 15 general spaces. Others are for staff, blue badge holders or EVs.

37 minutes ago, Penguin68 said:

I go there quite regularly (don't ask), on my own behalf and as a chauffeur for family. I have never noted people parking up, going in and then straight out again once registered. Some times of day (and some days) are much busier than others, as you might expect, especially during winter vaccination season. 

I guess in winter people are more likely to drive, it wouldn't take much to fill all the spaces with the different things going on at the surgery/pharmacy such as blood tests, picking up prescriptions. It's possible a lot of the cars are in and out in 15 mins, i've not monitored it closely. This morning with all spaces filled when I arrived there were a couple of cars loitering in the hope of a space becoming available. I didn't want to risk it. As has been said, you can drive in and out and be caught on camera and not get a ticket but I'm not sure what the grace period is, if there is one. 

Like you, I don't think a significant number of people are parking there to go shopping - it's too far from Lordship Lane as I found out this morning when i had to run from LL to Tessa Jowell! i guess the car parking spaces just can't cope with the number of legit drivers using Tessa Jowell and if that's the case not a lot can be done about it.

Edited 35 minutes ago by Eats Dulwich