• Up to 2 Hours £4.00
• Up to 4 Hours £6.00
• Up to 6 Hours £9.00
• Up to 9 Hours £11.00
• Up to 24 Hours £14.00

Weekends

• Up to 1 Hour £2.50
• Up to 4 Hours £4.50

Weekend Rate £5.00 per day applies (Saturday & Sunday) after 4 Hours

The Piccadilly Place car park is accessible 24 hours a day throughout the week and will also remain open on Bank holidays. The facility is under 24 hour CCTV surveillance and has been awarded the Parkmark® Secure credential by the civil enforcement authority, which means that adequate security and safety measures are in place for you at this car park. The option to pay is restricted to cash and coins only, which can be perceived as a little inconvenient so make sure you have a few coins with you before opting to park here.

The Manchester Piccadilly area is definitely one of the busiest in the locality where the demand for parking is really high. It is a convenient space for both commuters and shoppers, in addition to those who want to access the station frequently for business trips outside the locality. A final reminder: carry cash and change with you.

£8.00 for 2 hours
£16.00 for 4 hours
£24.00 for 6 hours
£32.00 from 6 to 24 hours

Payments can be made by both cash and card in this facility, but there are no congestion charge machines available. The facility is under 24 hour CCTV surveillance ensuring that your vehicle is being looked after; however, it is not advisable to leave any valuables on display as security is not guaranteed. There is only one passenger lift available, which seems inadequate for a facility of this size and scale of operation, and there are no bays allocated for blue-badge holders.

If you are visiting this area, the London Victoria car park is definitely a convenient place to park in, especially with two other car parks around the corner which you can fall back to if you find it full. Additionally, if you’re commuting to work in this area in your own vehicle it would be a wiser choice to get a contract space via ParkingLocal. We guarantee that you will save over 50% by opting for our parking solutions.

Road-side assistance anyone?
A motorcyclist who was run down in an accident was lying on the roadside with a broken leg waiting for the ambulance to come get him, but a passing parking attendant wasn’t convinced that this was a good enough reason to park his motorbike on the side of the road, so he was issued a PCN for parking illegally. He was in too much pain to protest, and the residents in the area witnessed the heartless gesture in astonishment.

Eco-too-friendly; 5.0 litre Mustang.
We often worry too much about carbon emissions from vehicles, so maybe buying a horse would be a good idea? Well, that’s very thoughtful of you, but it won’t stop you from getting a PCN! A retired blacksmith from Yorkshire, had briefly left his steed and come back to find a PCN on the horse – the vehicle description read “brown horse”. Whether it is carbon monoxide or a pile of manure, whatever comes out the back of your ride, you still can’t escape a parking fine.

Stuck in a truck.
It was the usual routine for a truck driver who was on his way to pickup goods from a location in London, until the road in front of him collapsed and the tires of his 17-tonne truck got stuck; a burst water main had caused the road to give way. While he stood there waiting for his truck to be rescued, a Civil Enforcement Officer happened to pass by. Despite the driver’s protests, the officer slapped a ticket on his truck and said “you can appeal”.

The Bank Job.
It wasn’t the best banking experience for a customer who had rushed into his local bank only to be later held hostage by two hijackers who looted it. When the police had arrived, the victim stayed behind to give a statement about the incident and eventually overstayed his allowed parking time. The police officers assured him that all parking attendants had been informed of the issue and had been told not to issue any parking tickets. Guess what he found on returning to his car? A yellow notice on his windscreen; the reason: overstaying his allowed time.

The Swedish affair.
If you happen to live in Sweden, never visited the UK and own a snowmobile, you are still liable for a PCN! This strange case was reported in the Warwick City Council, where a PCN was issued by post to a resident in Sweden, who was appalled by the ticket, here’s why: He lived in Sweden and hadn’t visited the UK for over 10 years, and the offending vehicle registration was that of his 2-tonne snowmobile! This confusion was later cleared when authorities commented that there had been some confusion between registration number plates across the EU. At least we now know that the Warwickshire County Council goes beyond their jurisdiction to get things done.

Obviously, the people concerned in these events wouldn’t think this a laughing matter but I’m sure they noticed the funny side of it too! PCNs are a common sight today, I noticed over three of them on my way to work, but receiving one for ridiculous reasons can be frustrating – appealing against a PCN can be even more annoying. Tommy Cooper once jokingly said, “You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen, it said ‘parking fine’.” Not many people think this statement funny anymore, and they rather live on without the compliment because it ends up being a little heavy on your wallet.

Have you had any funny encounters like the above, why not share it with us?

Source: “The 10 Funniest Parking Tickets Ever”, accessed at: http://www.moneyhospital.co.uk/blog/funny-bones/the-10-funniest-parking-tickets-ever

Labour’s legacy

The Labour government discouraged the allocation of too much parking in new developments in order to discourage the use of private cars and direct the public towards making better use of the public transport, cycling and other means. It has been reported that local authorities were told “not to reject planning applications on the grounds that the parking provision was insufficient”, which means that many on-going developments might not have allocated sufficient parking for the future. In context, they stressed on local authorities to set maximum parking standards but no minimum standards, except for disabled parking. Here are some aspects taken into consideration for the policies adopted:

• Need to make better use of public transport, cycling and walking for travel purposes.
• Reduce carbon emissions.
• Need to tackle congestion.
• Reduce the amount of land needed for development.

Public concern

Though the reasons seem rational, the public are unconvinced about the effectiveness of such policies and take on the view that limiting parking spaces will not prevent them from using private means of transport. A majority of the public are increasingly concerned about commuting to work, and not being able to find a place to park. The demand for parking has lead to a considerable rise in the price for parking and commuters are forced to succumb to these costs with no other options. Parking is an inevitable habit, and so it is advisable to make use of the best options available, for example contract parking, in order to save you time when you commute to work and also save a few hundred pounds that may help finance an exotic holiday at the end of the year.