News

Six of our car parks have retained their Park Mark accreditation for another two years after a recent inspection. This means all 26 of our managed car parks in the borough now hold the award, which is given for high safety standards for customers and their vehicles.

The Park Mark accreditation has been given to six of our car parks:

• Durrants Hill car park
• Cowper Road car park
• Lower Kings Road car park
• Bournside car park
• High Street car park
• Queensway car park

The Safer Parking Scheme sets a UK standard for car parks. It aims to reduce crime and improve safety for people and vehicles. Specially trained police assessors conduct a thorough evaluation of each car park. Only those that meet the strict criteria get a Park Mark. The British Parking Association runs this on behalf of the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives Ltd, as a subsidiary for the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).

The Safer Parking Scheme's strategy keeps incidents low or at zero. Since the scheme began, vehicle crime in public car parks has fallen, compared to other public spaces.

Cllr William Allen, our Portfolio Holder for Corporate and Commercial, said: “I am delighted that this reassessment of six of our car parks means all 26 of our managed car parks now have or have retained the Park Mark accreditation.

"The Park Mark award is a Police Crime Prevention initiative that aims to reduce crime and ensure the safety of our residents and their vehicles. This reassessment is a major achievement for our Parking Services team who maintain these car parks to a very high standard.”

Further details of our car parks can be found on our interactive map.