RESIDENTS around Burnley General Hospital have labelled a scheme to make them pay for a pass to park outside their homes as "grossly unfair".

Burnley Borough Council unveiled plans to solve the long standing traffic and parking problems in the streets around the hospital at Byerden House Socialist Club.

Extra construction workers, hospital staff and visitors parking on residential streets while the £30million pound development takes place at the hospital have added to the chaos.

Draft designs included a mix of traffic orders and a controlled residents' only parking scheme that covers a half-mile radius and affects around 3,500 people.

In return for an annual fee, yet to be decided, residents will be given a parking pass and can park anywhere within the area, but will also have to buy visitor passes for anyone else wishing to park.

Residents fed up with parking problems turned out in force to see the plans - and many were unimpressed.

They argue that they should not be forced to pay to park outside their own home, while some will still have to park further away from their house due to new double yellow lines and others complained that they will have no designated parking bays.

Basil Patton, of Queen's Road, said: "We accept the idea of the residents' parking scheme but what we object to is the fee they feel they can place on us. It's grossly unfair."

Ethel Brown, of Laurier Road, said: "The hospital is to blame because they have gone ahead with these plans without a thought as to where the staff will be parking.

"We should not be penalised because of hospital mismanagement. The residents have paid for these roads through taxes for the cars and it is after all the Queen's highway."

Council engineering manager Gordon Leighton said he accepted that the scheme would not solve all the problems.

He said: "There has been a constant stream of complaints from residents living around the hospital about parking. "They go out in the morning and can't get back in when they return because visitors to the hospital or people working at the hospital are parking outside their houses.

"The scheme is that if the residents wish to park they will be charged a fee for residents parking passes and they can park anywhere in the residents parking zones.

"It won't solve all the problems but it will go a long way towards that. We are trying to keep everyone happy as best we can."

Four different plans were on view featuring a choice of four zones and residents filled in questionnaires featuring their complaints, which Mr Leighton said would be taken on board.

He added that the introduction of the scheme would be at least six months away.