The British Car Parking Association on bay size says “The amount, type and design of any parking is critical”
Almost half of all pedestrian accidents and a quarter of all vehicular accidents involve the presence of a parked vehicle.
SIZE OF PARKING SPACES
The government is set to give councils power to set car parking spaces as the current minimum size is too small for modern cars. (Auto Express Article)
Government guidelines
The minimum acceptable dimensions for a car parking space is a width 2.5 metres as confirmed by planningdevelopment@watford.gov.uk
To the right of the vehicle is another pillar, this means the two cars will also end up being squashed closer together.
Shockingly the parking space on the right has been confirmed to be only 2.13m
Stephanie Waldron, thd Planning Enforcement Officer at Watford Borough Council has taken official measurements which show they fall short of above government guidelines.
From the white pillar, Bay A51 is 2.13m (2.27m Kerb to white line), and Bay A52 is 2.32m (2.40m White line to white line)
However, she goes on to add “I discussed my findings with my line manager and unfortunately the size of the bay spaces is not something we will be able to take any enforcement action on as the pillars are a necessary part of the construction of the car park and cannot be altered.”
On June 6th a driver became trapped and fell when his shopping bag jammed between his legs and the cars.
He had to be seen by hospital doctors. They confirmed the injuries and the nurse took photos to show the effect.
Watford General Hospital Diagnosis. Case No.46615
- Lower Back Muscle Strain
- Undiagnosed neck swelling
Mr Usher who has over 22 years of no claims, had his car come in contact with the pillar and his vehicle was damaged. He also says that there is a lighting issue in this corner, the obstacle was hard to see due to shadows to his left, and bright light from outside the car park where the bright sunlight shines in at the late afternoon.
In June, Mr Usher and his shopping became trapped between the two cars and he fell. This gave initial injuries to his finger. But later had to attend hospital due to neck and back pain.
Timeline
December: The local council’s Planning Enforcement Officer officially confirms the affected spaces are way below regulations.
22 September – Council planning could not gain access to car park. Will come again with owners and hopefully WCH and measure up.
August – Reported possible planning breach to Watford Planning Department who have now launched an investigation.
4th July – Contacted UK CPM to get space reallocated as instructed by WCH because they did not do it for me, but PPM say they have not been responsible since early 2022. This was an underhanded red herring by the landlord WCH.
6th June – Injury reported as they failed duty of care.
18th April Damage incident reported as Car park hazard design.
Date TBC – Reported issues with parking. Their reply said saying it’s not down to WCHT, and they never even questioned which vehicle I had. They just told me to contact the car park owners.
I believe this is a negligent attitude as not one question was asked about the size of my vehicle or if I wear glasses. I have over 20 years no claims, yet the negligence of housing has now damaged that.
The previous Parking & Property management stopped in January 2022 but took 6 months before signage was replaced.
Neil Douglas Block Management Limited are responsible for maintaining the car park.