Changes to parking at the university

July 5th, 2023

A number of changes to parking at the university are being introduced in the next few months.

Main visitor car park

The main visitor car park at University Park will reopen from 8am on Monday 17 July following the improvement works. Users have consistently told us the spaces in the visitor car park are too small, that there aren’t enough accessible spaces and that there’s demand for more electric charging points.

As a result of that feedback, as well as delivering important flood alleviation measures to reduce flood risk at George Green Library, the project will deliver:

• Enhanced biodiversity through the addition of planting within the car park;
• Increased number of accessible parking spaces from 3 spaces to 10 spaces, whilst retaining the late arrival spaces;
• Dropped kerbs and tactile paving at key locations to increase accessibility within the car park and to surrounding buildings;
• Clear and concise signage to create a more legible layout;
• A new surface with new line markings creating larger parking spaces which are more user-friendly;
• Electric vehicle charging points to be installed in the coming months.

These measures mean there will be fewer car parking spaces available in the visitor car park, but there are over 4,300 parking spaces across our campuses, with over 2,200 at University Park, 1,000 spaces at Jubilee and 800 spaces at Sutton Bonington.

Daily parking surveys undertaken by the Security team show there is spare capacity to accommodate the reduction in spaces at the visitor car park.

Parking charges

New parking charges will come into force from 1 September when the new permit year begins.

Colleagues can apply for their 2023/24 permit from 10 July 2023. Annual permits will continue to be virtual, while occasional use permits will remain paper-based for this permit year, but plans are in place to transition to a fully-paperless virtual system for the 2024/25 permit year.

Car parking charges will increase by 16% in the 2023/24 permit year, this increase is due to increased costs to provide car parking on our campuses. This decision was approved by the Estates and Infrastructure Committee in June 2023.

To put this in context, the 16% increase works out as an annual increase from £81 to £94 for staff in the lowest salary band with a car in the lowest emission category. Based on a permit being used 220 days per year this equates to a daily increase of just £0.06.

For staff in salary band 4 with a car in emission category G, the cost of an annual permit will increase from £319 to £371, meaning the daily cost to park will increase by £0.24.

For staff in the highest salary band with a car in the highest emission bracket, an annual permit will increase from £898 to £1,042, which means a £0.65 per day increase in parking costs.

Because more of us are hybrid working and our travel patterns have changed everyone will continue to have the flexibility to choose whether to purchase a full annual permit or occasional vouchers.

The full pricing matrix for 2023/24 staff permits can be found here and the prices for associate permits can be found here. A book of 50 vouchers for occasional users will continue to be priced at 30% of the cost of a full permit.

Staff can spread the cost of parking by choosing to pay for their parking permit / vouchers via salary deductions, or they can make a one-off payment for the full amount.

Free parking is available for blue badge holders and the university’s Security Office also operates a temporary blue badge scheme for those with temporary medical requirements for access to a blue badge space. Non-blue badge holders who are required to purchase a vehicle designed to support the care of disabled close family members, which falls into high emissions categories, can apply for a reduced cost permit.

More information about these schemes can be found here.

Alternative ways to travel to campus

Have you considered sharing your journey to work with a colleague? The University has its own staff car share scheme which you can help you find a colleague to share your journey with. Click here to register.

The university’s campuses are well served by public transport, with the tram serving both University Park and the Medical School. NCT’s 34 bus service runs through University Park every 10 minutes in term time and frequent buses stop close to campus entrances on Derby Road and University Boulevard. Several frequent bus services stop outside Jubilee campus on Derby Road and Wollaton Road.

Click here for more information about your public transport options.

Public transport operators offer discounted student fares and the travel pass scheme offers UoN staff the opportunity to purchase travel passes through salary deductions, spreading the cost over 12 monthly instalments.

Click here for more information about the staff travel pass scheme.

For travelling between campuses, we provide four free Hopper bus services to Jubilee (903), King’s Meadow (902), Derby Royal Hospital (904) and Sutton Bonington campuses (901). In addition, university staff and students can travel for free on medilink by showing their UniCard. More information on these services can be found here .

Cycling is very popular in Nottingham and the City and University has invested heavily in providing routes and support for cycling. Could you walk or cycle to campus? We have around 5,000 cycle parking spaces across our campuses plus showers and lockers – find out where facilities are located via our online maps.  To keep your bike in good working we offer free onsite cycle maintenance sessions – find out when Dr Bike will be visiting your campus here.

Staff can purchase a new bike through salary sacrifice by joining the Cycle to Work scheme accessible through the Employee Hub.

If you are unsure of your travel options, you can sign up for a free personalised travel plan .

Tags: car parking, car parks, parking, parking charges, staff parking, university car parks
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