Drivers have been flocking to Nottingham’s new Broad Marsh car park – with latest figures showing an almost five-fold increase in usage.
The award-winning, state-of-the-art facility, which has recently moved past its first anniversary after reopening in late 2021, welcomed more than 30,000 drivers in both November and December compared with 7,713 in January 2022.
The average weekday usage for the same two months was 1,490 and 1,215 respectively, against 268 for January.
The majority of the increase is thought to be more city-centre workers returning to the office recently and choosing to park at Broad Marsh. Drivers who arrive before 9.30am still benefit from a £5 ‘early-bird’ all-day tariff, which remains popular.
Councillor Audra Wynter, Portfolio Holder for Highways, Transport and Parks at Nottingham City Council, said: “These latest figures are extremely encouraging and demonstrate why it was so important for the former Broad Marsh car park to be replaced and modernised.
“It will take any new car park a little while to build capacity, but we’ve seen month-on-month growth in usage since the turn of last year and are now regularly having more than 1,000 vehicles on site a day.
“Broad Marsh is a safe, secure and well-lit building with state-of-the-art facilities, including electric charging points and contactless payment options. It’s in a prime location, close to shops and attractions, and our early-bird offer represents fantastic value for all-day parking.”
The Broad Marsh car park, bus station and Central Library building won another major construction industry award in September. It was named the Overall Winner after scooping the Sustainable Development of the Year and Commercial Development of the Year prizes at the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022.
Carried out by contractors Galliford Try on behalf of Nottingham City Council, the development saw an ugly 1970s car park and bus station replaced with an architecturally-stunning building containing a Park Mark-accredited multi-storey car park, bright and airy new bus station, double-height Central Library and retail space surrounded by vibrant public realm. It is a landmark development at the heart of the £2bn regeneration of Nottingham’s Southside.
In line with the council’s ambition for Nottingham to become the first UK carbon-neutral city by 2028, Broad Marsh is one of the greenest car parks in the country, leading to its Sustainable Development of the Year win.
It has 81 electric vehicle charging points – the largest car park installation in the UK – and 720 roof-mounted solar panels to power the car park and bus station, energy-efficient lighting and a Vehicle Management System to navigate drivers to free spaces quickly, reducing vehicle emissions. Also, 95 per cent of the demolition material was recycled into the new building.
Its Commercial Development of the Year success came thanks to it contributing more than £30m of economic value to the city during construction; effective collaboration between contractors, the council and other partners; best practice design and innovation; as well as rising to the challenges of the Covid pandemic striking shortly after the start of the project.
The bus station became fully operational when Trent Barton services joined National Express on site in October and the fit-out of the Central Library is under way for completion later this year.
The latest awards success comes after the project emerged winner of the Integration and Collaborative Working Award and runner-up in the Building Project of the Year at the East Midlands Construction Excellence Awards.
This is in addition to scooping the British Parking Association Award for Best New Car Park in October last year, plus being handed Disabled Parking Accreditation and ParkMark Safer Parking Awards again the following month.