Monday Morning Inspiration
In October last year, Epping residents made a peaceful demonstration to protest the parking problem in their neighbourhood. Commuters travelling via the nearby underground station would leave their cars parked along the streets from 8am through to the evening every day, creating problems for the residents. Parking woes are not new to London or other British cities, and finding a place to park your car can be a big problem, especially in the commercial areas. Public car parks are always jammed and private ones either cost a lot or have exclusive admission rights. If you are in an area where there's a need for parking and an open plot of land is available close by, establishing a paid car parking can be a good source of income.
Selecting a Location
If you set up, say, a small 50-car paid parking and charge £3 to £5 per day, depending upon the location, you can make £150 to £250 per day. Of course, this income will not come without a cost. Buying or renting a vacant plot of land is probably the heaviest investment that you'll be making. The government may not allow the conversion of just any type of land to a car park, so you should be 100% sure that the space you are buying can be put to your intended use. If you are looking to establish a parking business, you may already have your eyes set on a vacant lot.
Obtaining Permissions
After you have shortlisted one or more spaces for your business plans, the next thing you will need is a parking permit from your local government. This may prove to be a stumbling block if you are planning to build a parking area in one of the green belts, in which case you'll be required to demonstrate that your parking will not create a drainage problem. It may take from a couple of weeks to a few months to acquire the parking permit, depending upon the area in which you are setting up in.
The day you get your permit is going to be a big day for you, because nothing stands between you and your thriving parking business. You will be required to get public liability insurance as a part of the permission process, after which you are all set to go. However, your parking lot is still a blank stretch of land and you will need the markings and equipment to make it look like a parking area. You'll be required to display safety signage and have clearly designated spaces for parking. The government specifies the standards for setting up a car park, including measurements for marking parking lanes for cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles. You must adhere to all the government regulations and guidelines for setting up your car park.
Installing Car Park Signage and Equipment
There's a whole lot of ready to install parking equipment available, from which you can select the items that you need for setting up your parking area. The Workplace Depot features car park barriers, perimeter barriers, low level protection rails, swing gates, automatic barriers, corner protection hoops, traffic flow plates, traffic paint, parking blocks, and numerous other equipment and materials for setting up a complete car park. When you have your equipment installed, you can either charge for the parking manually or install ticketing equipment with the help of a consultant firm.
Setting up a parking business is not what many people think of, probably because of the red tape involved in the permission process. However, if you think you have a good location and the requisite amount of investment, a car park can be a stable source of good revenue for a long period of time. It requires minimal maintenance and will most likely be full by 8am, if it's located in an area where a scarcity of parking spaces exists.
For more parking equipment, click here.
Posted in News, Workplace Commentary