A Birmingham landlord is hoping to cash in on local parking problems by turning the driveway of his rental property into a big car park.
Akeel Ahmed made national headlines after he spent £20,000 tarmacking the land and marking out bays for 20 cars, undercutting charges at Heartlands Hospital.
For £5, drivers drop the cash through his letterbox and can park all day, which is less than the £10.20 demanded by the hospital opposite, for a 24-hour stay.
Motorists have been dumping cars on pavements and even in the middle of mini-roundabouts in a bid to avoid hospital car park fees.
The former plumber, who lets out the property at the junction of Alston Road and Bordesley Green East, decided to make the drastic decision when a visitor asked if he could park on the drive and gave him £5 for his trouble.
Nursing profits
Ahmed said his main customers are nurses, some of whom can’t get permits to park at the hospital. He is now eyeing the school run market and offers drop-off and pick-up slots on weekdays for £2.
“I get four or five cars a day, some days I get none,” he said. “Weekends I can get none. If all 20 bays are full, it will be £100 a day but at the moment it’s more like £10.”
He added that everyone who had approached him believed it was a brilliant idea – although there’s no mention of what his tenants think. “It’s going to be worth it,” said Ahmed. “I’m making the area nicer as it was very overgrown. I contacted the council and they saw it as a positive.”
Picture credit: BPM Media.
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