The latest NCP car park to open in Salford, Stanley Street, has installed dual electric charging/disabled bays. These are believed to be the first installed in the UK.
These bays can only be used by Blue Badge holders who are charging their electric vehicles. This idea was proposed to NCP by Helen Dolphin MBE and Libbie Bilyard, founders of the People's Parking accreditation.
Helen Dolphin MBE came up with the idea for the dual bay when making improvements to the People’s Parking accreditation. Helen said: “Within the accreditation we look at provision for electric vehicle charging. I am only too aware of the increasing growth of electric vehicles and although I don’t have an electric vehicle myself, I knew that as a disabled person I would struggle to get out of my car in a standard sized bay. I therefore wanted to encourage car park operators to consider the needs of electric vehicle owners who are disabled and I’m absolutely delighted that NCP have installed a dual bay in their new car park”.
Salford, Stanley Street has also achieved the People’s Parking accreditation which aims to improve car parks for customers by highlighting those with facilities for disabled people, parents, commuters, cyclists, motorcyclists, EVs and those who drive wheelchair accessible vehicles or camper vans. People's Parking also aims to drive up standards in the parking industry as all car parks achieving the accreditation will need to demonstrate that they have good signage and pedestrian routes, are well lit, clean and managed. The location of the car park is also noted to make parking easier for people who are new to an area.
Sean Fenney, NCP Head of Operations for Manchester, commented, “At NCP we work very closely with Helen to really understand the needs of our disabled customers and to try to make our sites the best we possibly can. Normally we have to work within the limitations of the estate that we currently have, so when we have a new build car park it’s always a great opportunity to be able to make the space really work for all our customers. We were really pleased to be able to add our first dual electric charging bay for our disabled customers, as we expect that to be a very real need in the near future.”
There are hundreds of car parks in the scheme which have met the accreditations high standards all over the UK. People wanting to find their perfect car park should visit the website www.peoplesparking.org
All images: from left to right, Libbie Bilyard, Director People’s Parking, Helen Dolphin MBE Director People’s Parking, Fairport the assistance dog.
For further information please contact:
Helen Dolphin MBE
Direct Line: 07941253947
Email: Helen@peoplesparking.org
@peoples_parking