Airport Parking News

www.Airport-Carpark.co.uk: Shoppers can save more than £700 a year by tracking down hidden discounts on the internet, as experts say that consumers are increasingly seeking out unusual bargains to beat the credit crisis.

Everything from buying disposable contact lenses and medicines, to sending a parcel or paying for car parking can now be done online – all at a substantial discount to paying for the same goods or services in the offline world.

People looking to cut back because of the credit crisis can make substantial savings in even less obvious areas, such as airport car parking and sending parcels.

A week at Heathrow's NCP car park costs £66.50 if you pay when you arrive at the airport. However, if you book in advance over the internet you can save a full £25.

The Daily Telegraph has calculated that on just seven unusual products and services – pet medicines, pet food, contact lenses, airport parking, a magazine subscription, smoking cessation medicines and sending a parcel – the savings for a family reach £405 if they use the internet.

Read the FULL story on the Daily Telegraph
Book UK Airport Parking HERE

www.Parctel.com: The search for the British parking industry’s top performers has begun. On 7 March 2008, the winners will receive their gongs for customer service, marketing, training and even ‘joined-up thinking’ when the awards are presented at London’s Dorchester Hotel.

The Overall Winners Award will be presented by Equita, the event’s main sponsor, to the individual category winner representing the most outstanding achievement in the UK parking industry during the past year. Further sponsors will be announced in the run up to the awards ceremony in March.

The British Parking Awards are organised by Parking Review and Landor Conferences, sponsored by Equita and supported by the British Parking Association.

Launched in 1989, Parking Review is written for public and private sector parking managers, enforcement contractors, car park designers and builders, highway planners, police forces, transport consultants, parking system suppliers and specialists. The monthly journal now has 6,000 readers.

Landor Conferences is a major division of Landor Publishing, a publishing company responsible for the magazines Cinema Business, Local Transport Today, Transit and Parking Review. The company currently runs around 30 events a year, including seminars, conferences, exhibitions and award ceremonies.

Equita Limited is a leading provider of collection and enforcement services to local authorities operating decriminalised parking. Based in Northampton, Equita offers a nationwide service through its infrastructure of local offices in London, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.

Source: British Parking Association

www.Parctel.com: Q-Park car parks Mosae Forum in Maastricht and Spaarne Hospital in Hoofddorp received EPA Awards. The awards were presented on Thursday, September 27th, in Madrid during the biennial conference of the European Parking Association (EPA).

There were a total of 19 nominations in eight countries, divided into four categories. The jury chose a winner from each category. Q-Park was honoured twice, once for the Mosae Forum car park in Maastricht, in the category New Projects and once for the Spaarne Hospital car park in Hoofddorp in the category Special Projects.

Special design of Mosae Forum:
The Q-Park Mosae Forum car park is located directly next to the Maas and twelve metres deep, below Maasboulevard in the historic centre of Maastricht. This four-storey underground car park is the largest in the city. Developed by 3W, designed by architect Jo Coenen and further developed by architect Mark Hermans, it is innovatively integrated into the modern shopping area of Mosae Forum. It has a luxury design, clear lighting and clean, shiny floors.

Unique collaboration with Spaarne Hospital:
The Q-Park Spaarne Hospital car park is the result of a unique collaborative effort between Q-Park and the Spaarne Hospital. This car park is designed to provide practical features that meet the specific needs of hospital visitors. This includes wide and disabled parking spaces, wheelchairs, and special ticket machines at wheelchair height. The artistic design of the car park also creates added value. The aluminium outer walls are constructed to depict human DNA after nightfall.

European Parking Association Award:
The EPA Award is a biennial European prize for excellence in parking service. The goal of the award is to promote the quality improvement of car parks. Important quality criteria are practicality and efficiency, construction and design, maintenance, management and safety. This is not the first time that Q-Park car parks have received the prestigious EPA Award. This award was previously presented to the Laakhaven car park in The Hague (1999), Museumplein car park in Amsterdam (2001) and the (2003).

Zuidplein car park in Rotterdam - 2003 Renovated Car Park, European Parking Association Winner

www.Parctel.com: In order to improve the image of parking in multi-storey car parks, the European Parking Association has instituted a European Standard for safety and customer friendliness in car parks.

The Standard contains guidelines and a score sheet for:

• lighting and reflective surfaces
• vehicular entry/exit
• parking areas
• pedestrian routes
• lifts
• stairwells
• security
• maintenance
and several other items.

The European Standard Parking Award can be obtained by car parks owned or operated and that gain a required minimum of points on the score sheet.

Application forms are available at the European Standard Parking website.

The national Parking Association will present the Award in the name of EPA and will reclaim the plaquette if the awarded car park does not conform to the requirements anymore.

Plaquettes are obtainable from the EPA office in Cologne at a cost of 70,00 EUR apiece + shipping costs.

www.Parctel.com: Q-Park, one of Europe's largest and most advanced car park operators, has appointed a new management team to drive forward its BCP airport booking service.

Freddie Kemp, UK Commercial Director of Q-Park Ltd, who has been involved in the airport car parking and property sector since 1994, takes over the business following the departure of Stephen Moss CBE and Eric Campus, members of the founding family of BCP. He is supported by Q-Park Head of Marketing Will Dunnett, who has taken on responsibility for sales and marketing at BCP and by Kevin Sage, previously Commercial Director who assumes the role of Finance Director.

"BCP is one of the most highly respected organisations in the travel industry. Multi-award winning, it has developed an industry-leading reputation for customer service and professionalism. The role of the new team will be to drive this philosophy forward as the premier airport car parking service", says Q-Park Chief Executive Alan Ashbee.

www.Parctel.com: Nearly one in two motorists wants help parking their car, a new survey shows. In the British Airways Association study at Gatwick Airport, 48 per cent of the drivers questioned called for free spaces to be highlighted to reduce parking stress.

www.Parctel.com: The British Parking Association (BPA) officially welcomed its new President, Les Knight, on Tuesday, 11 July 2007, at the President’s Reception at the House of Commons attended by Dr John Pugh, the Liberal Democrat MP for Southport. Knight takes over from Peter Guest.

His first task as President will be to announce the BPA’s new five-year strategy, which will see the Association seek to better serve the needs of both the member and the consumer as the parking sector develops. With the introduction of the new regulations and Guidance for Civil Parking Enforcement over the next year and with the BPA taking on an increasingly, although informal, regulatory role, it will become more important for consumers needs and views to play a part in its development.

Broadly, the five-year plan 2007-12 will see the BPA consolidate its position as the recognised leading authority on parking and related issues, serving members and consumers by:

· Setting and raising standards further
· Supporting the needs of the consumer
· Developing its regulatory role
· Expanding the range of member services

Initiatives to achieve these aims will be rolled out over the next few months.

Keith Banbury, Chief Executive of the BPA, commented: “We welcome Les as the new President, and look forward to his input at what is an interesting time for the Association, and the still relatively young parking sector. As we move further towards consolidation, regulation and consultation, it will be more important than ever to have someone who knows the industry inside out at the helm.”

New Business Director of Euro Car Parks, Les is well established in the parking industry, having been with his current company for 18 years. His responsibilities for maintaining high level relationships with key account clients, including private companies, health authorities and local authorities, ensure that his finger is on the pulse of many of the parking sector’s growth areas.

His early years were spent in the structural design of buildings, and later in the access control industry. Also setting the agenda for continued quality improvement and client satisfaction with all Euro Car Parks’ services, his contributions are not limited to his day job. As Vice President for the BPA, Les has served on several steering committees, including those with a focus on off-street enforcement and shopping and retail. He maintains a watching brief on the changing face of parking and technological development, and holds a specific interest in the NVQ training development programme.

Lynn Witham of Parking Associates Ltd becomes Vice President.

www.Parctel.com: Q-Park, one of Europe's largest and most advanced car park operators, has appointed a new management team to drive forward its BCP airport booking service.

Freddie Kemp, UK Commercial Director of Q-Park Ltd, who has been involved in the airport car parking and property sector since 1994, takes over the business following the departure of Stephen Moss CBE and Eric Campus, members of the founding family of BCP. He is supported by Q-Park Head of Marketing Will Dunnett, who has taken on responsibility for sales and marketing at BCP and by Kevin Sage, previously Commercial Director who assumes the role of Finance Director.

"BCP is one of the most highly respected organisations in the travel industry. Multi-award winning, it has developed an industry-leading reputation for customer service and professionalism. The role of the new team will be to drive this philosophy forward as the premier airport car parking service", says Q-Park Chief Executive Alan Ashbee.

Just Parking as an approved BCP Airport Parking Affiliate wishes the new management team well.

www.Parctel.com: How many times have you exited from a shopping centre or the airport just to wander aimlessly around looking for your car?

Even worse is that 'the Airport Parking meter is running', you are tired, jet lagged or hungover and the stress begins taking it's toll.

Help yourself find your vehicle in the airport parking lot by taking a photograph of it with your mobile phone camera as well as the general parking area it is in before you fly off.

www.parking-stansted-airport.com: For those days when you have forgotten to book your Stansted Airport Parking in advance and have the right vehicle, you could always park at the airport like this guy:

Guy can't find a parking spot at an airport, so he creates one. 'Airport Parking' Video is 53 seconds long.

www.Parctel.com: Lessons to be learnt by both the travel company and traveller here. More and more we see that first impressions count. And the air traveller's first impression is always Airport Parking. If your reception at the aiport parking lot is smooth and unstressed then that good first impression will excuse a lot of niggles later. Book your Airport Parking before arrival and hopefully what happened to Alan Johnston will not happen to you. His blog rant is titled Dear British Airways and Iberia Airlines.:

You offer a unique travelling experience through your “co-operative partner service” to Ibiza - one that should work very well - but in reality does not deliver as smoothly as it should.

Booking on-line through Iberia.com is a very easy, straight forward service - electronic tickets issued all very efficient.

The problems first occur at airport parking and choice of terminal - tickets state very clearly which terminal you should go to - all OTHER evidence and instructions at car parking and in airport brochures indicate that you should in fact be going to another terminal - first stressful decision has to be made - we followed the ticketing advice (the right decision) quite a few followed the permanent advice provided by the shuttle buses and airport information services ( the wrong decision). They caught us up about 90 minutes later after having gone to the wrong terminal.

We check in and get a boarding pass for first flight - but not the second - which was so odd we came back out to check it was OK and were assured it was. All our baggage was checked through to Ibiza.

Click HERE to read more.

www.Parctel.com: Rogue companies which issue parking tickets on private land will be driven out of the market thanks to an initiative set to be enforced later this year. From October 2007, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will release vehicle registration information only to those companies which are members of an Accredited Trade Association.

The British Parking Association (BPA), which is to become the first Accredited Trade Association, said on the 18th April 2007 at Parkex, Europe’s largest parking industry fair, that the initiative will prevent motorists receiving high-priced, unregulated tickets.

As it has the responsibility of being the only parking organisation with official DVLA accreditation, the British Parking Association has also announced that it will be launching its own Approved Operator Scheme, backed by a Code of Practice for Parking Enforcement on Private Land and Unregulated Car Parks. Members that do not comply with the terms of this Code (see notes for terms) could have their British Parking Association membership initially suspended, and possibly terminated (dependent on individual circumstances of complaint).

Transport Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman said: “This initiative will help us clamp down on unscrupulous people who abuse the system to make money out of innocent drivers. I fully support the Approved Operator Scheme and welcome the fact that the British Parking Association is DVLA’s first Accredited Trade Association.”

Part 2 of the Code, introduced today, extends the scope of the successful ‘wheel-clampers’ Code introduced at Parkex in 2006 and aims to standardise the industry’s approach to ticketing on private land and introduce a level of fairness for the consumer. Under the Code guidelines, standard charges for a parking ticket issued on private land should not exceed £75, and the maximum charge shall not exceed £150. Early payment discounts are recommended for a period of 7-14 days and all details of charges should be included on signage.

DVLA’s External and Corporate Services Director Richard Kitchen said: “This is a positive step in meeting Dr Ladyman's call for a more robust system and I am pleased to report that the BPA is the first organisation to receive Accredited Trade Association status.”

Keith Banbury, Chief Executive of the British Parking Association, said: “This collaboration is a long time coming. Now that we have launched the Code and announced our Approved Operator Scheme, the public can look forward to a fairer, more transparent and regulated regime for parking on private land. There are companies operating in ways that are unacceptable, and the public is both confused and concerned. Our aim in extending our regulatory role in the parking industry is to reward good practice and drive out bad, leaving only legitimate companies undertaking fair and proper enforcement.“

Compliance with the Code will be monitored by the BPA. Members will be required to submit evidence of compliance annually, highlighting any issues and identifying proposed solutions. A dedicated compliance manager will conduct regular and random testing via on-site inspections to ensure that the Code’s principles are being maintained. Where members’ operations are found wanting, remedial action will be a requirement; where this does not happen and failure to comply with the Code persists, a member shall be suspended, and possibly expelled from the BPA. The compliance management team will also investigate complaints about alleged breaches of the Code by its members. The British Parking Association will not, however, be adjudicating in individual parking disputes; these are covered by the Code’s requirement for Approved Operators’ to have an effective Disputes Management procedure.

The new Code was drawn up by the BPA’s Director of Technical Services with support from the British Parking Association Off-Street Enforcement Special Interest Group.

Source: British Parking Association - BPA

www.Parctel.com: The ultra modern building, designed by architects Wilkinson Eyre, features the extensive use of aluminium, steel, glass, concrete and zinc. The six floor car park was one of the winners in the North-West regional awards. A special RIBA plaque will be displayed at the car park, which now goes forward to the national awards.

Q-Park worked closely with the architects and the developers Grosvenor to ensure that the car park complies with Q-Park's stringent design and quality criteria and forms a welcoming and convenient entrance to one of Europe’s most vibrant and innovative retail and leisure centres.

One of the RIBA judges said in the citation: “The design of this scheme successfully deals with the problem which multi-storey car parks so often face, of how such a building use can make an enjoyable and meaningful part of the urban fabric in which it stands.

“Although this is a tough building type and the materials necessarily harsh, the jury felt this was a powerful contribution to the rapidly growing urban context in which it stands, well conceived and carefully positioned. A building worthy of an award.”

Liver Street is the first of three Q-Park car parks which will serve the new Liverpool One development - the UK’s largest city centre regeneration scheme. The other two car parks: Strand Street, a 1,850 space four-level underground car park, and Gradwell Street, a 553-space multi-storey, are scheduled to open in 2008 - Liverpool’s European City of Culture year.

www.Parctel.com: NATS, the UK’s leading air traffic management provider, today (Tuesday 8 May) launches a consultation on proposed changes to two small sections of airspace that run from Evesham to Brize Norton and from Andover to Romsey.

The proposal allows for sections of airspace to be levelled with adjoining airspace, creating a corridor in which aircraft can be safely separated into north/south flows. The proposal also allows for two additional small areas of controlled airspace; these are extensions of approximately five nautical miles in width to the existing controlled airspace structure which links the Midlands with the South Coast.

The Terminal Control South West (TCSW) airspace change proposal is neither associated with, nor directly enables, expansion at any particular airport. It is being proposed to simplify the very complex traffic interactions in this area; the only way in which Air Traffic Control can currently manage this is to impose delays.

NATS anticipates that major benefits resulting from the proposed changes will include fewer flight delays and a decrease in carbon emissions per flight.

Consultation regarding this airspace change is being carried out involving a broad range of environmental and aviation stakeholders. These include county, borough and district councils, Members of Parliament, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Parks, environmental groups, airlines, recreational aviation groups and other interested parties. Consultation material may be found on the NATS website at www.nats.co.uk; the consultation period closes on Friday 10 August 2007.

Once the consultation is complete, its findings will be submitted to the Civil Aviation Authority which decides whether the proposed change can go ahead. If approved, the change is planned to become operational on 10 April 2008.

Recently, I had occasion to go across to Scotland on a brief visit. Being aware that there had been some dissatisfaction over parking charges at Aldergrove, and not having used those facilities for several years, I made a point of asking advice from a uniformed security man where I should park for between two and three days.

He recommended that I leave my car in the short stay car park. On my return, I entered my parking card in the paying machine and was taken aback to read that the charge amounted to £28.50.

Fortunately, I had enough cash in my pocket.

The Aldergrove management, or the holder of the parking franchise, is on to a winner, for there's gold under the tarmac.

Perhaps one or the other would like to say what service was provided to me for the 53 hours that would justify the charge of £28.50.

It's about time a Government regulatory body looked into such unjustified overcharging.

Source: L Cardy Carrickfergus. Letters Page, Belfast Telegraph