Car parking consultants
The sense of arrival to a visitor site or destination is a critical element of the visitor journey. The car park is often the first onsite ‘touchpoint’ that visitors experience, which can create an immediate positive or negative impression. At the same time car parks are key commercial and revenue generating assets.
Car parking advisory services
Planning Solutions Consulting specialises in working on car parking projects which are specifically related to visitor and tourist destination sites, from country parks through to heritage, forest recreation and coastal destination sites.
Working as visitor experience and car parking consultants we can work with you to advise on the:
- Number of car parking spaces required
- Tariffs to charge
- Supporting core messaging (around the allocation of parking revenues)
- Payment systems
- Supporting visitor infrastructure
- Commercial opportunities linked to the car park
- Supporting business case
Some parking areas can also provide a multi-functional use such as the ‘aires’ seen in many roadside sites in France. These offer short stay overnight accommodation for motorised vehicles such as campers and motorhomes.
Car parking architectural design services
We have an established relationship with Hiraeth Architecture who can lead on the physical design of car parks through all RIBA stages of work alongside preparing and submitting planning applications and assisting in identifying full capital costs.
Working in some of the most complex sites in the country, Hiraeth Architecture specialises in design on sensitive sites. This ensures that their proposed solutions are contextual and responsive to their surrounding environments, minimising their impact, and allaying many of the concerns that might otherwise exist.
We have worked with Hiraeth Architect on a number of recreation and tourism projects – from preparing a Sustainable Development Plan for Freshwater West in Pembrokeshire, a honeypot coastal destination site, through to preparing a Development Plan and Business Plan for Broadland Country Park and Development / Visitor Experience Masterplanning at Gnoll Estate Country Park.
Some of the car parking projects our team has worked on:
- Hampshire County Council: Advised on approaches to car parking payment systems across all of their country parks
- National Trust: As part of preparing a sustainable development plan for Freshwater West, with Hiraeth Architecture, we advised on future design and operational considerations for the beachside car park
- Buckinghamshire County Council: Review of country parks including an assessment car parking
- Falkirk Council and Historic Environment Scotland: Production of Strategic Tourism and Infrastructure Development Plan for Blackness which addressed parking issues
- East Lothian Council: With Hiraeth Architecture prepared a visitor management plan for key coastal ‘honeypot’ sites which considered car parking
Operational experience of managing car parks
Alongside our consulting services our sister company manages a number of popular visitor attractions and tourism businesses including Kent Life Heritage Farm Park, CONKERS – a 120 acre discovery site, the Cotswold Country Park and Beach and the Royal Esplanade Hotel. Across the sites there are approximately 1,300 car parking spaces and a number of coach parking spaces which we manage.
How can we help?
If have any questions about carrying out a car parking feasibility study or exploring future options at an existing or new car park at a visitor or tourist site please don’t hesitate to call Richard Linington on 07866 742628 or email richard@pslplan.co.uk