PARKINGEYE will be responsible for the new automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system of parking at Royal Bolton Hospital.

In December, NHS bosses were given the green light to introduce the new technology.

Now The Bolton News can confirm that national car park management company, ParkingEye will be responsible for the site.

The Chorley-based firm works on around 3,500 sites across the country, and claim to be the “largest provider of parking for the NHS”.

The Glyde Payment System set to be introduced will give motorists more options to pay, accepting cash, chip and pin, and mobile payments.

Visitors will now be required to enter their registration number into the machine using a 19” touch screen, confirming the car shown on screen is theirs.

They will then pay for the time spent in the car park, hopefully reducing the cost for some visitors, and the first 30 minutes are free.

Payments can be made on the good2go app up to 24 hours after leaving the site, and new users will get free parking for their first visit.

The Trust have previously expressed that they hope the move will reduce “car park abuse” to ensure that the 2,565 bays available are free for users of the site.

Those with a blue badge, or patients at the oncology and renal units, will still receive concession fares.

ANPR technology is already in place at the Diabetes Centre and will be rolled out to other locations operated by Bolton NHS Foundation Trust in the spring.

The company has been rated badly on Trustpilot, with 98 per cent of people reviewing it as “bad”.

When asked about these reviews, a spokeswoman for the Trust said: “The ANPR will be provided by ParkingEye on behalf of IFMBolton who manage the site for Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.

“IFMBolton considered a number of models for providing ANPR and chose ParkingEye’s as the most cost-effective.

“ParkingEye has assured us that they have improved user experience and that they have learned lessons from other trusts that have implemented the system.

“ IFMBolton will be working actively with them during mobilisation and through the length of the contract and will have the opportunity to review ParkingEye’s contract if they do not deliver the service we have agreed."

The new scheme will not cost the Trust to implement.