Kettering blood donors reminded they can claim back parking fees

Last year Kettering Council came to an arrangement with the NHS whereby people who parked in the London Road car park, or the council car park nearby, to give blood at the Corn Market Hall were able to claim back up to two hours’ parking.

But it appears that take-up of the offer has been slow, with little publicity by way of posters or leaflets in the hall.

Cllr Maggie Don, who first propopsed the idea, said when she gave blood recently nobody seemed to know anything about the scheme.

She said: “Having done my civic duty and duly emptied my arm, I sat down to have the prescribed cup of tea and make my next appointment and asked about validating my ticket for the refund.

“Initially it appeared none of the staff had any idea about the scheme or how to administer it.

“This prompted quite a debate among my fellow donors who also didn’t know about the scheme.

“Eventually someone was found who had heard of the scheme and they managed to find the required stamp for my parking ticket.

“I was them able to go to the council office and claim back my £1.50 parking charge without any further problems.

“This is such an obviously good thing for the council to do, but without donors knowing anything about it what is the point?”

A Kettering Council spokesman said that, while it was down to the blood service to publicise the scheme, council officers would be visiting the hall to see what the authority could do to let more people know about it.