Council Car Park Wins Prestigious Award

Welwyn Hatfield Council’s Hunters Bridge multi-storey car park in Welwyn Garden City town centre has received the prestigious Park Mark Award.

The presentation will take place at Hunters Bridge Car Park on Wednesday 13 September.

Chief Inspector Simon Hawkins will present the award to Councillor Mandy Perkins (Executive Member for Planning and Environmental Health) and Chris Conway (Chief Planning and Environmental Health Officer for Welwyn Hatfield Council).

The Park Mark Award is a national scheme aimed at reducing crime and also the fear of crime that some people feel when using car parks.

Hunters Bridge, a council-run car park which now has capacity for 640 vehicles, has been assessed in conjunction with the Police and the British Parking Association. The award recognises the extensive refurbishment works carried out over the past two years to make the car park a safer place to leave cars.

Upgrades made at Hunters Bridge include improvement of the CCTV system, enhanced lighting and complete redecoration. The council has also incorporated a number of extra wide spaces to help those who find it difficult to park.

Unlike many car parks in other town centres, there is no charge to disabled users upon production of their blue badge.

Councillor Mandy Perkins, Executive Member for Planning and Environmental Health, said: “One of the council’s promises in the Corporate Plan is to work to make people safer. This award is an acknowledgement that we are doing just that. This is the second council car park to receive this award (Osborn Way was the first) and we intend to continue working to achieve this standard for all our car parks.”        

For more information of Park Mark Awards, please visit their website: http://www.securedcarparks.com/