Building a better future for parking

Parking & Property takes place in London on 12 May

Parking and property experts from across Europe will meet in London on 12 May to discuss the changing relationship between motorists, their vehicles, and how they park.

The annual Parking & Property event will also explore how retailers and shopping centre owners are making parking facilities a positive part of the shopping experience by creating more attractive facilities and using parking as part of their marketing and loyalty programmes. Over the past six years Parking & Property has developed into a forum for public and private sector car park owners and operators, developers, planners, designers, contractors and suppliers.

This year’s content was developed by Nigel Williams, managing director of Parking Matters, and Mark Moran, editor of Parking Review, in consultation with leading property owners and developers, retailers, technologists, parking operators, architects, construction companies, consultants and professional organisations.

The day features presentations by specialists in property management, the Internet of Things (IoT), car park operation, car park design and refurbishment, and parking technology.

The day’s seminar is complemented by an exhibition showcasing services and technology. Delegates will be able to network and see the latest systems and services during social sessions held in the supporting exhibition. The event ends with The Parking & Property Social, an opportunity for conference delegates to network with the speakers and exhibitors over drinks and canapés.

Book today

Receive a 20% discount when booking online by quoting the code PANDP16EBD when prompted at www.parkingandproperty.co.uk

Car parks designed for the people

Parking should be a service that enables people to access destinations without stress or delay. The day’s keynote presentation will be delivered by a leading European parking operator, who will look at the design and operation of car parks and how they could evolve to meet the expectations of modern drivers.

Theo Thuis, chief operating officer of Q-Park Group, one of Europe’s most progressive parking companies, will look at the way in which the design and use of parking structures must develop as drivers’ behaviour, desires and needs change. Thuis suggests that the distinction between on-street and off-street parking is increasingly vanishing.

Guiliano Mingardo, senior researcher in transport economics at Netherlands’ Erasmus University, believes that parking is often planned based on emotion rather than evidence, which can result in the wrong policies and bad investments. His presentation compares approaches to providing free and paid parking across Europe.

Welcome to the car park of tomorrow

The Parking & Property seminar looks at how the design and management of parking is evolving in the era of online commerce, connected cars and Intelligent Mobility.

Justus Loebler, a PhD student at Imperial College London, looked at the evolution of both the car and the car park when researching the British Parking Association’s report The Future of Parking and Urban Mobility. His presentation will look at the world of Intelligent Mobility (IM), which sees data, apps and technology, such as sensors and VMS systems, used to help drivers locate, book and pay for parking in an increasingly seamless manner.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network that enables devices, vehicles and buildings that feature embedded sensors to collect and exchange data.

Maria Hernandez, Cisco’s business development and solutions strategist for the Internet of Everything, is a leading IoT thinker. She will be looking at the way driving and parking are being transformed by the advent of connected cars and smartphone apps.

Cars are not only becoming smarter, they are becoming more environmentally friendly, with a growing number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road. With EVs seemingly set to become the mainstream, both public and workplace car park operators need to plan for an electric future.

There has been much public investment in free EV re-charging infrastructure, both on-street and in car parks. Andrew Luck, principal traffic services officer, London Councils, will provide insights into the technology, financing and operation of EV charging networks.

Delivering a positive experience

Faced with increasing competition from online marketplaces, retail schemes are working hard to attract customers into both High Street and out-of-town stores. One way they are doing this is by creating a sense of shopping as an experience. Parking & Property 2016 will give delegates a chance to hear the latest thinking about the future of parking from leading property developers and retailers.

David Tudor-Morgan, head of retail property management at British Land, will speak about the need for car park designers and operators to enhance the quality of the parking experience.

Roger Binks, customer experience director at Intu Properties, will discuss the role that parking plays in attracting people to stores. Intu’s estate has town centre destinations like the Harlequin in Watford and regional centres such as Merry Hill.

The car park as a gateway

The pivotal role of parking structures in urban regeneration projects will be discussed by Andrew Barton, project director of Muse Developments, which has created high quality, award-winning parking facilities such as Talbot Road in Blackpool and the New Bailey car park in Salford.

Mark Potter of Potter & Holmes Architects will examine how car parks can become not just gateways to town centres and key destinations, but also act as major civic structures that enhance the urban realm. He has worked extensively on new build and refurbishment projects with Muse Developments and Q-Park.

Car parks as an investment

Local authorities are major providers of parking in towns and cities across the UK.

Guy Slocombe, director of property, investment & estates at Westminster City Council, will look at whether councils step back from day-to-day operations and let the private sector run their parking stock in a way that enhances customer service and maximises margins.

Making sure your parking assets remain in tip-top condition will be the focus of a talk on maintaining car parks using Life Care Plans by John Taylor, director at USL Group, a specialist contractor working in the car park refurbishment field.

An update on the regulation of parking

Off-street parking has been subject to a lot of legislative change, and a degree of uncertainty, over recent years. The ban on most clamping on private land, a new world of civil enforcement has resulted in various trade bodies emerging. However, the private sector is not formally regulated in the same way as local authority car parks.

Inconsistencies abound, with many private car parks now enforced using ANPR technology, yet the use of camera-based enforcement systems in public car parks operated by local government has been prohibited by central government.

At Parking & Property 2016 Patrick Troy, chief executive of the British Parking Association, will provide delegates with insights into where central government’s attitude to the regulation of parking on both private land and in local authority car parks could be heading.

The exhibition

The Parking & Property event showcases services and organisations in the sector. Confirmed exhibitors, supporters and sponsors so far include:

• British Parking Association
• Clearview Intelligence
• CP Plus
• The International Parking Community
• Parking Matters
• Q-Park
• Safer Parking Scheme
• Stirling Lloyd
• USL StructureCare
• WPS UK
• Zenitel (Stentofon)

To discuss sponsorship and exhibition opportunities contact Tracy Hawley by calling 0121 218 0542

Email: tracy.hawley@landor.co.uk