The Light receives national Park Mark Plus award for exceptional parking facilities

Q-Park has received one of the first Park Mark Plus awards for its car park at The Light in Leeds City Centre. This car park is one of the first 10 parking facilities in the UK to receive this prestigious award.

Building on the well-regarded Safer Parking Scheme’s Park Mark award, the new Park Mark Plus recognises only the highest quality car parks. The award assesses a range of criteria from services and operations to design and build. To qualify for the award, the car park must meet Park Mark and Disability Parking Accreditation criteria as a minimum.

Customer expectations for well-managed, high quality car parks are exerting demand on the sector to deliver excellent services and enhanced customer experience whilst caring for the environment. Technology is also playing a growing role in delivering a seamless and efficient customer experience.

Environmental sustainability is a key focus of this award; the availability of electric charging bays, energy saving lighting, water recycling or re-purposing rainwater and air quality monitoring are desirable features. Supporting green choices such as car-sharing through special parking bays or secure bicycle and motorcycle parking can be evaluated as well as greenery, from planters and pots through to living walls.

Q-Park The Light passed the scrutiny of the assessors with flying colours. The car park already had the Park Mark award for the level of security available in the car park, this ranges from regular patrols by dedicated parking hosts to the ability to monitor CCTV 24 hours a day by the Q-Park Customer Service Centre. The facility also met Disability Parking Accreditation criteria as it has 24 disabled parking spaces and lifts that go straight up into the Centre allowing for easy access to shops and restaurants.

When it came to taking that next step and gaining the Park Mark Plus award, Q-Park The Light was able to answer all the questions posed. Q-Park has always been the market leader when it comes to accepting new technology to provide a seamless customer experience. The installation of the ground-breaking PaSS system into this car park (link https://www.q-park.co.uk/en-gb/uk-news/q-park-launches-pass/) means that season ticket holders and daily parkers can enter and exit the parking facility simply by entering their Number Plate into the Q-Park app. This takes away the need for customers to interact with any pay machines, something that is key in a post COVID world. From an environmental perspective the use of energy saving LED lighting and the availability of Electric Vehicle Charging points demonstrates Q-Parks ambitions to be a green parking operator.

Adam Bidder, Managing Director of Q-Park commented “Q-Park has always been synonymous with offering the most safe and secure parking facilities in the industry. We are delighted to have been recognised by the British Parking Association for the confidence that we provide to our customers regarding the safety of their property. We look forward to receiving more Park Mark Plus Awards in the near future.”

Ryan Davey, British Parking Association Area Manager said: “I am delighted that Q-Park The Light has achieved the Park Mark Plus award. It demonstrates the hard work and commitment Q-Park has to providing not only a safe environment but also customer and environmental benefits.”