Patients visiting the Thorpe Health Centre in Thorpe St Andrew must now register their car registration details upon arrival to avoid potential parking charges. The East Norwich Medical Partnership announced on 30 March 2026 that this new system has been installed at the site by the Norfolk Community Health & Care NHS Trust.
The surgery, located on St. Williams Way, is asking all patients who travel by car to manually input their vehicle registration plate as soon as they enter the building. This new requirement follows a national trend of introducing automatic number plate recognition technology at GP surgeries and hospitals across the United Kingdom to manage parking space availability.
While intended to help manage parking, these systems have caused concerns elsewhere in the country. At other medical facilities where similar technology is used, patients have reported receiving high parking charges—sometimes reaching £100—if they fail to correctly register their vehicles. Patients are advised to ensure their details are accurately entered to avoid these charges, which are often issued by private parking management companies like UK Car Park Management.
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