Car parking update – September 2020
What's changing on campus?
As we approach the start of the new academic year, we’re giving you notice of a wide range of changes when travelling to and around our campus. This includes responding to the consultation on evening and weekend car parking charges and sharing details of other car parking changes that will take place from 1 October onwards.
We also have information about our vision and the exciting transport and mobility initiatives on the way.
Transport and mobility: our long-term commitment
It remains our vision to establish a smart, carbon neutral campus and to transform cross-regional transport connections. Our goal is to help our staff, students and visitors to sustainably and conveniently get to, from and across our campus.
Whilst this page focuses on communicating changes for car users on campus, in the coming weeks and months we’ll be sharing more about the innovative and diverse transport and mobility solutions that we’re introducing to campus. Some of these are world-firsts. We hope you’ll engage with these new initiatives in time, possibly even replacing your existing modes of travel with new ones. It is our long-term aim to provide you with a wider range of effective solutions to meet your needs.
Furthermore, as a global research institution, we have deepened and broadened strategic partnerships across our region to connect our mobility research and campus development strategies with local, regional, national and international sustainable transport and mobility agendas, so we can make a significant impact on how future generations live, work and socialise.
Read more about our plans for Our Future Campus.
New prices and the new way to pay for parking
Long-planned pricing changes will be implemented, having been paused for some time. We are also introducing new evening and weekend charges.
Pay by Phone
Pay and Display will be replaced by a Pay by Phone service, our new cashless payment method. This online service is mobile-friendly so is easily accessible on campus using your mobile. See how to pay for parking online.
All Pay and Display machines will be suspended and cash payment will not be possible.
Prices will increase and be active from 1 October.
- Up to 2 hours - £2.00
- Up to 3 hours - £3.00
- Up to 4 hours - £4.00
- All day - £7.00
We will also be introducing new weekend and evening parking charges from 1 October.
- Evenings - £1.00 from 6pm-6am (if you have bought an all-day ticket this includes the evening and you do not need to buy another ticket).
- Weekends - £1.00 until 6am the following day (a ticket on Saturday would be valid until 6am on Sunday; a ticket on Sunday would be valid until 6am on Monday).
In late 2019, the University held a consultation to understand how the impact of introducing long-planned parking charges for evenings and weekends on campus might be mitigated. Read a full response to the consultation.
Changes to car parks
When planning to drive to campus, have a look at where you can park.
We are making changes to the multi-storey and surface car park adjacent to the old Sports Centre (now called the Junction building). The impact of Covid-19 has changed how many of us will travel to and from campus. In the very short term, we anticipate that there will be an increase in students and other car users, who are not eligible for parking permits, to want to access campus by car. To accommodate an anticipated short-term change in car use:
The multi-storey car park by the old Sports Centre/Junction building (car park 8) will be converted into a ‘Pay by Phone’ only car park between 6am-6pm, Monday-Friday; during these times, parking permits will not be valid in this car park.
This car park has been selected because it is centrally located and can serve a broad range of users.
The surface car park directly outside the Junction building (car park 8A), formerly known as the 3-hour short stay and pre-reserved visitor car park, will be converted into a 4-hour short stay car park between 6am-6pm, Monday-Friday, for ‘Pay by Phone’ users only.
The surface car park directly outside the athletics track (car park 12) will be converted into a ‘Pay by Phone’ only car park between 6am-6pm, Monday-Friday.
This car park has been selected because it can serve a broad range of users.
To create more parking capacity, the Coach Park will be converted into a 4-hour short stay ‘Pay by Phone’ only car park between 6am-6pm, Monday-Friday. On the days where there are pre-booked coaches arriving to campus, the car park will be closed to accommodate these arrivals; should this be the case, clear signage will be in place to let you know.
Pedestrianisation of campus and social distancing
Covid-19 has had a significant impact on how we plan to operate campus to ensure the safety of all our community. To support social distancing measures when travelling across campus, we will be pedestrianising key parts of campus that were formerly accessible by road.
We are updating the campus map to reflect these changes and these will be shared as soon as the new maps are ready.
Please ensure you plan your journey in advance to save time when on campus.
Investing in transport
The University will invest parking revenues into an entirely new and efficient ‘Pay as you Go’ ANPR permit parking system and into a completely systems-based parking network which you’ll hear more about in the coming months.
We will also invest in the initiatives that enable realisation of our masterplan vision, which includes introducing more varied, innovative and sustainable transport and mobility solutions on and around campus.
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