Licensees urged to utilise car parks for extra income

04-Sep-2013 - Last updated on 05-Sep-2013 at 07:50 GMT

More income: licensees have been encouraged to utilise their car parks for further income

Licensees should utilise their car parks by charging non-customers to use them — that’s according to a car park management services provider.

Barrie Douglass, managing director of Premier Parking Solutions, explained that it could help “generate considerable amounts of income”.

He added that owners of closed pubs that have spare car parks could also cash in.

Douglass added: “The pub trade has been struggling through the recession and landlords need all the income they can get. It is not difficult to develop a model of parking that provides pay & display parking for customers which may be redeemed against purchase over the bar and the facility which allows the general public to park providing they pay and display. This works very well in urban areas where parking is at a premium.”

He said that landowners can lease their property to a car parking specialist and take the rental this generates. Alternatively, the parking company can manage the facility and share the pay and display revenue be-tween the parties. All this is generally undertaken with no cost to the land owner, explained Douglass.

Feasibility

David Hawksworth of the Fox and Hounds in Northallerton, north Yorkshire, agreed that licensees should utilise their car parks. However, he warned that there could be some upfront costs.

Hawksworth, who is also the president of the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations, added: “It’s something I agree with. There are people out there who think they have the right to park where they like.

“We’ve considered it but it would cost a lot to put up gateways and, because of the size of the car park, it would reduce the feasibility of getting waggons in and out.”

A spokesman for the Pig and Whistle in Sheen, west London, said he has charged 80p per hour for non-customers for five years. The pub's main reason for putting up gates was to save the spaces for his customers and for security.