Let's talk about car parks

Car parks are important civic structures that open up destinations, support their local economies, and are vital revenue generators in their own right. This is why car parks are worth talking about. Car Parks is an annual conference organised by Landor LINKS and programmed by Parking Review in partnership with the team at Stripe Consulting. 

Car Parks 2025 showcased new approaches to construction and fitting out structures. This year there was focus on the importance of understanding design standards and harnessing knowledge. Delegates received important information on the behaviour of fire in car parks. There was expert advice on how to design structures that can cope with the increased weight of modern cars. A poignant presentation looked at designing and managing structures in a way that prevents suicide attempts.

There were expert insights on implementing electric vehicle charging infrastructure, on renovating ageing car parks and practical advice on how look after these important assets.

A highlight of the day was a special ‘game’ which explored the options for property owners when it comes to deciding whether they refurbish or replace ageing car parks. 

To see the Parking Review feature on Car Parks 2025 CLICK HERE

To find out how to be a part of Car Parks 2026 contact Jason Conboy, managing director of Landor LINKS, by email on: jason@landor.co.uk

How safe is your car park?

Understanding the risk of structural overload

Car parks are dynamic spaces used by vehicles and pedestrians, whose structures are exposed to dramatic changes in load, the elements, traffic movement and icing salts. The growing size and weight of cars, such as SUVs and electric vehicles, has sparked a debate over whether or not existing multi-storey car parks are at risk of collapse.

“Car parks do collapse for a multitude of reasons, but collapses should be avoidable,” said Chris Whapples, consultant at Stripe Consulting. Whapples recommends car park operators are vigilant and invest in understanding their structures. “Are there telltale signs that reveal to us that a structure is overloaded? The risk is normally evident from cracking, sagging and elements going out of plumb. But visual evidence alone is insufficient and needs to be supported by the results of thorough structural investigation and assessment.”

Hugo Fernandez, a structural engineer at Stripe, shared insights from assessments of older car parks and offered approaches to mitigate the risk of collapse. “Solutions include strengthening structures, re-arranging bay layout or limiting access by heavier vehicles to the suspended floors,” he said.

Car fires are a burning issue

Ian Bailey shared the insightful work of CROSS

Fires in car parks are not uncommon, however the blazes in multi-storeys serving Liverpool Arena in 2017 and London Luton Airport in 2023 were unprecedented in their scale. Both fires resulted in the destruction of hundreds of vehicles and loss of the buildings. These high-profile fires led the influential safety body Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures (CROSS) to examine the safety of car park facilities in a number of important reports.

Ian Bailey BEng, fire safety consultant at CROSS, draws on his experience as a firefighter to understand how buildings behave in fires, and approaches to prevent or fight blazes. 
Bailey guided delegates through the causes and consequences of the Liverpool, Luton and similar car park fires. He addressed how the design and construction of modern vehicles is adding to the intensity of car park fires. Cars are getting bigger and there are issues around the use of plastic fuel tanks, which melt and accelerate fire spread. There is also a need to study and better understand the way in which electric vehicles behave in a fire, he said.

Bailey also looked at how fires are fought and explored the case for installing sprinklers in car parks.

A guide to help prevent suicides

Jon Elliot offered advice for designers and operators

Suicides at car parks are a sadly common event. But they are avoidable and preventable. Multi-storey car parks are open structures, providing easy access to great heights, from which jumping presents a perceived or believed higher certainty of death. Consequently, it’s important to minimise potential risks and work with experts to provide information and access to learning material and training.

Jon Elliott, head of architecture at Stripe Consulting, shared how the British Parking Association’s Structures Group has devised new guidance for organisations that design and manage car parks.

The guidance states that suicide can be prevented. Any risk identified and mitigated may save a life. Car park operators are urged to create a suicide prevention strategy and establish relationships with local police, first responders, crisis intervention professionals and suicide-prevention organisations who can provide advice and training.

A number of steps can be taken to prevent car parks from being used and to increase the chances of a last-minute intervention. Many of these resonate with the Safer Parking Scheme and Park Mark award, such as CCTV or foot patrol surveillance, good lighting and a clean environment.

Charging into the future

Cambridge is reinventing its car parks as EV charging and secure cycle hubs, said Sean Cleary

The historic city of Cambridge has been integrating electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure into its car parks. In parallel, its car parks also feature facilities that support Cambridge’s long-standing status as a cycle city. 

Sean Cleary, strategic delivery manager at Cambridge City Council, set out how the car park works are taking place in the context of Cambridge’s commitment to leading by example in the fight against climate change.

“We’ve set a target for net zero carbon by 2030 for our own operations, and we’re supporting a city-wide goal of net zero by 2050. Transport is one of the biggest contributors to emissions, so investing in sustainable mobility is essential. Our focus on EV charging and cycle hubs helps us: improve air quality; reduce traffic emissions; encourage active travel, such as cycling and walking; and build long-term infrastructure that supports greener, healthier lifestyles. This means, by making it easier for people to switch to electric vehicles and bikes, we’re helping make Cambridge a cleaner, more sustainable city for everyone.”

The city’s EV charging roll-out has been rapid. “In 2023, we started small, with just four EV chargers. By 2024, we had installed 150 chargers, a major step forward. Here in 2025, we’ve reached 200 chargers which shows real momentum.

“If we look at usage data since April 2023: we’ve sold over 130,000 kWh of electricity. That’s a lot of clean miles.

“Some 11,000 charging sessions have taken place, with nearly 2,800 unique customers. That’s added up to 442,000 miles driven using electric power instead of petrol or diesel. And most importantly, we’ve saved 119,000 kg of CO? compared to internal combustion engine vehicles.

“All of this has happened at off-street locations, including car parks integrated into our city infrastructure. It’s a great example of how we’re actively supporting Cambridge’s net zero transition – not with future plans, but with real results happening now.”

The Car Park Game

Refurbish, rebuild or replace?

The car parking experience can define a visitor’s first impression of a place, business or institution and set the tone for the rest of their visit. Property developers and operators need to serve the needs of drivers and the destinations they want to visit when creating, upgrading and running car parks. 

A growing number of multi-storey car parks built in the 1960s and ‘70s are now showing their age. Not only do many need structural renovation, but also modernisation to cope with a world in which cars are larger and electric. 

The question car park owners and operators have to answer is whether or not to refurbish, rebuild or replace?

Does it makes sense to:

• renovate or rebuild ageing parking structures so that they offer a better parking experience in the hope this generates a better return, or...
• leave existing sites as they are, but offer poorer service levels and tolerate lower yields?

Potential answers to these questions were played out in The Car Park Game, an exercise that saw teams of delegates invited to play the roles of car park operators trying to compete for a range of drivers played by fellow attendees. 

The game was devised specially for Car Parks 2025 by Andrew Potter, director of Parking Perspectives.

Look after your car park 

Car parks are structures that need to be looked after to keep them operating efficiently and safely

A panel of experts stressed the importance of regular inspections. maintenance regimes and properly planned renovations.

How to clean a car park
Keeping parking areas spick and span not only creates a nicer ambience for customers, but cleaning regimes that unblock drains and remove de-icing salts protect the structural integrity of structures, said John Taylor, consultant at 49 Parks.

Life-care planning for car parks
Harry Smith, senior technical manager at Stripe Consulting set out how a properly planned and recorded regime of checks and inspections ensures that car parks remain structurally sound.

Investigations: Making the invisible visible
Christian Stone, Level 3 corrosion engineer at Concrete Preservation Technologies, set out how targeted corrosion monitoring and investigations allows the early identification of corrosion issues. This enables the planning of works to prevent the deterioration of car park structures.

Protecting concrete structures
Corrosion in concrete structures is often associated with the penetration of water and de-icing salts. Russell Gulley, project consultant at Markham, explained how hydrogel technology can protect parking structures by creating hydrophilic reaction that counteracts the processes that lead to concrete corrosion.

How to plan a refurbishment
Russell Simmons, managing director of Stripe Consulting talked about how the renovations of town centre multi-storey car parks in Colchester and Horsham were planned and implemented.

To see the Parking Review feature on Car Parks 2025 CLICK HERE