Airport Parking & Hotels Ltd successfully retained their Safer Parking Scheme Park Mark® award.

Airport Parking & Hotels Ltd (APH) has once again successfully retained their Safer Parking Scheme Park Mark® award. This follows a strict re-assessment by Dennis Donovan, Sussex Police Accredited Assessor and Mike Bibby, Area Manager South East.

Since January 2012, the car park has seen around 125,900 vehicles yet experienced no crime related incidents.

Airport Parking & Hotels operate a ‘block parking’ system which is where customers attending the facility have their vehicles parked for them by competent staff. This runs alongside a meet and greet operation where staff collect vehicles from the airport and securely store them.

Drivers wear identifiable uniforms, produce photo identity badges and are regularly tested for their driving abilities, as well as being stringently vetted before being employed.

The management practices in place at the facility are of a high standard with clear audit procedures in place including vehicle movements and storage of keys. The facilities have electronic surveillance covering vehicle access points, reception and parking areas and staff are constantly ‘patrolling’ the sites when moving vehicles and completing their general duties. Appropriate lighting is in place and the facilities are regularly cleaned.

Mike Bibby said, “This is another good example of off airport parking and customers vehicles are kept secure whilst in APH’s care. As there have not been any incidents recorded over a twelve month period, this creates a safe environment and customers can be confident when booking every effort is made to make their experience a pleasant one, whether that is for business or leisure. I would like to congratulate all personnel involved for maintain the high standard we witnessed during the assessments”. 

About the Safer Parking Scheme

The Safer Parking Scheme is an initiative of the Association of Chief Police Officers aimed at reducing crime and the fear of crime in parking facilities.

Safer parking status, Park Mark®, is awarded to parking facilities that have met the requirements of a risk assessment conducted by the Police. These requirements mean the parking operator has put in place measures that help to deter criminal activity and anti-social behaviour, thereby doing everything they can to prevent crime and reduce the fear of crime in their parking facility.

For customers, using a Park Mark® Safer Parking facility means that the area has been vetted by the Police and has measures in place to create a safe environment.