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Here are just some of the success that CP Plus has delivered. Follow the links below to read case studies on our clients.

CP Plus goes back to college

Purpose-built parking is one of the many benefits of a new building, as the staff and students of Darlington College in County Durham discovered when they returned to the College for the start of a new educational year.

In August 2006, Darlington College, one of the largest Further Education colleges in the North of England, moved to a new �35 million campus in Houghton Road, Darlington. The move represented a massive investment in facilities and equipment for the college's 15,000 students and included a 400-space car park.

After competitive tender, car park management specialists CP Plus won the contract to handle parking facilities on the campus. The seven-year contract, which began in September, includes the management of a pay-and-display charging system.

Low parking charges were a high priority for the College, since historically parking there had been free. Together, the College and CP Plus came up with a way of keeping charges low by introducing a staged tariff over the seven-year period.

The College consulted staff on their charging preferences, as Executive Director of Finance and Resources Debbie Leigh explained. "We offered staff two options, a five-year agreement with higher initial charges or a seven-year agreement with lower charges in the early years. Not surprisingly, the majority opted for the longer-term with the lower charges during the first years."

Staff, students and other users of College facilities pay 50p per day for parking and demand for spaces is quite intensive, given the low cost and the high numbers using the site. CP Plus has introduced a secure registration and pass system, to ensure that all those who park on site are bona fide users.

"We're pleased that we were able to come up with an arrangement that enabled the College to cover its costs, while keeping charges to a minimum," commented CP Plus's Paul Levene. "And we are delighted that the College had sufficient confidence in us to commit to a seven year contract."

Though it is early days, the car park has been running smoothly since the students returned in mid September, thanks to good support from CP Plus, according to Debbie Leigh.

"CP Plus has been excellent in ironing out one or two teething problems we encountered in the first few days. They are good at keeping in regular communication with us, so we are able to discuss any potential issues and find joint solutions quickly. We find them easy to work with.

"CP Plus operators have also been very effective on site. From the first day, they've been showing people how to put their registration numbers into the machines and helping them find spaces. The service has been very good."

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Service that has grown over the years

The working relationship between Heatherwood & Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust and CP Plus has come a long way since 1995, when the company first won the contract to manage car park facilities on the Trust's two Berkshire sites. Eleven years on, CP Plus is still managing parking for the Trust and much more besides, as the close association between the two organisations has developed and matured.

Proof of the strength of their relationship was demonstrated recently, when, following a tender process, the two organisations agreed a new eight-year contract, covering both security and car park management.

Heatherwood & Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust provides healthcare at its two principal hospital sites, 13 miles apart, Ascot and Slough, and five other remote sites.

"CP Plus and the Trust have been working together for a long time," says Kay Loudon-Bruce, Head of Security at the Trust. "With each new agreement, CP Plus has won the tender following strict tendering procedures.

"They had to convince the panel that they can fulfil all the necessary requirements, including financial considerations and compliance with our specifications."

The latest agreement includes a greatly enhanced security system, including equipping and operating a new control centre, the upgrading of the CCTV system from analogue to digital, and the extension of security measures to incorporate access control, integrated infant tagging and manned guarding.

The new technology will provide 24-hour monitoring inside and outside the hospital buildings. As part of the same tender, the Trust is also improving the management of its car parks by moving from 'pay and display' to 'pay on foot' systems.

While the Trust has not suffered from unusually high levels of crime on site, improved security is a priority. This mirrors general moves throughout the NHS, supported by central government, towards providing a safer environment for staff and the general public.

"We are concerned not only about crime, violence and other kinds of antisocial behaviour but also about the perception and fear of such behaviour," says Kay.

"Our aim is to reassure staff, patients and hospital visitors that they can go about their business on the site and in the public areas with confidence - as well of course, as offering increased levels of deterrence and detection when problems do occur."

Operational control and CCTV monitoring for both main sites are centralised in one location at Wexham Park. Construction of the control room is now complete and the equipment installed and up and running. A total of 51 cameras now monitor both sites.

Both CP Plus and the subcontractors who undertook the installation worked to a tight specification laid out by the Trust. There are still some tasks to complete.

"There have been a few small teething problems to work through but, all being well, we hope to roll out the complete manned guarding and security system later this year." The system has been designed to be further developed and enhanced, including integration, as required.

"This has been a very new experience for us, so it was good to have CP Plus on hand to work alongside the security consultancy, as part of a team," says Kay.

Why has the relationship between Heatherwood & Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust and CP Plus been so enduring and so successful?

"In general, we like CP Plus's approach and their hands-on management style," comments Kay. "We get on well with the directors and meet with them regularly. We work well with the CP Plus manager who is on site throughout the working week, and with their other staff. We find CP Plus adaptable, responsive and reliable; a good partner who deliver what is required."

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New scheme takes pain out of award-winning hospital parking

Hereford County Hospital has just been awarded the Park Mark award under the crime-busting Safer Parking scheme run by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). This award is the culmination of a programme of improvements to the parking facilities at the hospital.

Hereford County Hospital provides services for a population of some 225.000 people in Herefordshire and surrounding counties. Officially opened in 2002, Hereford County was among the first wave of UK hospitals to be built under a private finance initiative (PFI).

As well as Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust, the PFI involved the food and facilities management services company Sodexho and the engineering and support consultancy W S Atkins, with the car parks managed by specialist parking management company, CP Plus.

After a number of difficulties with the original parking system at the hospital - stemming mainly from its close proximity to Hereford's town centre with shoppers, workers and hospital visitors often combining visits to the hospital with shopping expeditions - the Trust Board raised concerns regarding car parking provision.

Since it was not possible to create any further parking spaces on the site, the Trust Board set the wheels in motion to ensure that the best use was made of existing spaces.

With parking charges at the hospital comparing favourably with other town centre facilities, the conundrum was: how to price out shoppers, workers and extended parkers without penalising genuine hospital patients and visitors?

�We were receiving complaints from patients and visitors who would come to the hospital and not be able to find a parking space because the car parks were full," said Sodexho Business Manager Diane Weaver.

Following the concerns expressed by the Trust Board, a great deal of research was conducted into different parking schemes around the country. 'Pay on foot' was seen by a number of Trusts to be the most efficient way of managing the spaces. This advice was backed by CP Plus, who have been managing car parking on the hospital site since 1996.

With the agreement of the Trust, a 'pay on foot' system was introduced in July 2006."

The aim was to tailor charges to discourage extended parking and prevent parking misuse, while ensuring they were at an acceptable level for legitimate patients and visitors.

The Trust's three main parking areas are now barrier-controlled. Entry tickets are dispensed by pay machines and motorists pay on departure. This ensures they only pay for the length of their stay. While charges for the first hour remain as before, charges for extended parking have been significantly increased. Car park attendants are on site throughout the hours when the barrier system is in operation, to assist with charging queries and ensure efficient traffic flows.

To make sure the system is fair, various discounts and concessions have been introduced. For example, patients and visitors who have to stay at the hospital for extended periods through no fault of their own - for example if they have to wait for several hours in A&E - are only charged for the first four hours of their stay. Frequent parkers, who have to visit the hospital several times a week, also qualify for a discount.

CP Plus's Gavin Povey commented, "We were asked to look at a number of issues at Hereford which we believe the new 'pay on foot' management system addresses."

"There are many benefits. Drivers now pay only for the time they use, not the time they have prepaid. People not visiting the hospital have been discouraged from using the car park by the presence of the barrier system and our onsite operators. In addition, we have seen a very pleasing increase in the turnover of spaces and improvements in traffic flow."

Sodexho's Diane Weaver is happy with the way the new system is working. "It's been efficient in freeing up spaces and we no longer have complaints from people who can't find anywhere to park. We're very pleased with the outcome and delighted the car park has been recognised by the Park Mark award."

Summing up, she said, "CP Plus has been operating at the hospital for almost 11 years now. We get on well with the individuals we work with, from the operators on site through to CP Plus management. They are good at keeping us informed and liaising with the Trust on matters like penalty charges. Relations with them are very good."

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Intelligent parking solution for University

After an initial one-year agreement, the University of Hertfordshire has renewed its contract with car park management specialist, CP Plus, for a further year.

The University is based on three campuses at College Lane, de Havilland and St Albans, and is home to some 20,000 full and part-time students.

Lack of space and the need for consistency in the enforcement of parking regulations led the University to change its policy from clamping to fixed charge notices, outsourcing the operation. The previous parking management system, in operation for some time, was based on a combination of permit allocation and pay and display.

"What we did was build on what was already in place," explains CP Plus's Paul Lavine. "We took the existing system and made it work for the University through good management practice.

"We enforce it more effectively, putting our operators on site throughout the week to offer assistance to drivers and deter parking abusers, and at the newer De Havilland site, we man the barrier entry system on weekdays."

The benefits to the University have been gradual. Parking areas are well regulated, students and staff are parking in their correct designated areas and illegal parking has been reduced to a minimum.

CP plus is able to help on special occasions too. "We offer the University extra support for special events like their campus tours and regular open days. We are also on hand for the graduates' awards ceremony, which is held in St Albans Cathedral and is a major event in the academic year," says Paul.

CP Plus has shown they can be flexible as well. "We believe it is good practice to adapt to different circumstances and to exercise discretion when situations demand it," says Paul. "With that in mind, we have learnt to be sensitive to students' parking problems during stressful periods. We tend to be more tolerant at exam times, for example."

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NHS: Finding a greener way to travel

The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Trust was one of the first in the NHS to pioneer a Green Travel Plan. Launched in 2002 and reviewed in September 2004, the Trust's plan has delivered considerable benefits to staff, patients and visitors at both Bournemouth and Christchurch hospital sites and achieved all the objectives originally set.

Thanks to the plan and with the support of car park management specialist CP Plus, the Trust has been able to reduce staff parking at its sites by 150 spaces, despite an increase in staff numbers and the expansion of the Trust.

Prior to implementation of the Green Transport Plan, the Trust's two sites were experiencing severe problems with parking, with almost half their patients and visitors arriving late for appointments because of difficulty in finding a parking space. Due to the joint efforts made by the Trust's Green Transport Plan and CP Plus management, this has now improved considerably - and this impetus is being maintained.

The Trust has been able to cut down on the number of single occupancy staff cars coming on site, while at the same time being successful in encouraging the use by staff of bikes, buses and car share schemes. The number of outpatients and visitors travelling to the hospital in a car on their own has also decreased.

Now, instead of letters of complaint from patients about the car parking situation, the Trust now overwhelmingly receives letters complimenting them and CP Plus on the car park arrangements. Complaints letters are minimal.

There was some resistance to the plan at the start but gradually, by means of a programme of incentives and disincentives, acceptance has grown. A hugely successful annual Bike2Work week held in June 2004, during which staff were offered free breakfast if they cycled to work, resulted in an immediate increase in the number of staff cycling to work each day. This event will be repeated in June this year.

Bus and cycle maps, local transport information, cycling and car share advice, and even bus tickets are available through a Car Park and Transport Office. And the Trust keeps everyone well informed by means of a quarterly newsletter promoting green travel and circulated to all hospital wards and departments on both sites.

CP Plus is in place to facilitate the running of the hospital car parks and penalty fines are only used when justified, and not to the detriment of patients or staff.

The parking situation at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals Trust has eased, despite the fact that the hospitals have expanded, the numbers of patients and visitors to both sites have increased and the Trust has not been able to increase its parking spaces. The Trust and CP Plus will continue to work together to contain the car parking situation as much as possible, to the benefit of both the patients and the staff - which in itself will be a long-term project.

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Moto: Driving up parking revenues

Back in 1998, Moto ran the parking facilities at its 42 UK sites in-house. But they had a nagging feeling that it was neither realising the full value of its parking assets nor providing its customers with the best service.

It became obvious to Moto that, as the UK's largest provider of motorway service areas, their expertise lay in providing a warm welcome for their customers taking a break from their journey. In order to get the most from their parking facility, they realised they needed a company whose expertise was in parking. "Parking was simply not our core business," says Raymond Wilson, Commercial Development Manager of Moto.

"Every day, the general manager of a busy motorway services area has a series of competing pressures to contend with - catering, retail, lodge occupancy and so on.

"Increasingly we felt that the level of attention we were able to allocate to parking was not adequate. Enforcement was not up to scratch and we were not able to offer customers the feeling of security and the level of care we would normally like to provide. All that in addition to the important issue of lost revenue; loss of focus was costing us money."

Moto found the solution in a car park management company with equal professionalism and specialisation to its own business.

CP Plus was identified as a potentially suitable specialist service provider. A trial run at two sites in October 1998 confirmed Moto's impression that this was the company for the job. A five-year deal was signed and CP Plus' parking and security management was phased in across Moto's nationwide network of sites. This contract has since been extended to 20 years until 2019.

Raymond Wilson explains: "We decided to bring in some focused expertise, from a company whose sole business is parking - both from the point of view of maximising our returns and protecting our image as a customer-conscious organisation."

As revenues went up a massive 60% soon after contracting out its parking management to CP Plus, it's easy to see why Moto quickly had confidence in CP Plus' abilities. Moto's financial returns on parking increased substantially - and they have risen year-on-year since, despite the extra cost to Moto of paying an outsourced service provider.

"To be honest, we weren't at all confident that we would show a net gain on the deal, after the additional costs," Wilson confesses. "However, our parking revenues have continued to grow. The biggest increase was, of course, in the first year but I'm pleased to say that it has continues to improve every year since then."

The system introduced at Moto's sites is a mixture of pay and display machines and manned central parking points, supported by a team of mobile supervisors. The largest part of the revenue comes from long-term car stays and overnight lorry parking. Each site is individually managed, with varying regimes and hours appropriate to each one agreed with Moto, within an overall operational template.

As well as a considerable boost to its parking revenues, Moto has benefited from the enhanced perception of its services that higher levels of security have brought. "After dark, travelling customers find the sight of a parking operator in a fluorescent jacket extremely reassuring," says Wilson.

There have been other benefits too. Using their established relationships within the transport industry, CP Plus has been able to negotiate parking contracts with a number of the larger hauliers on Moto's behalf.

Raymond Wilson concludes: "CP Plus understands the sector and we have a good working relationship. We appreciate it is very important, in the highly commercialised environment in which we operate, that the bottom line, in terms of parking revenue, has to be secure."

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Safeway: A Safe Way to Park

First impressions are all important in the retail industry and no-one is more aware of this than Safeway, one of the leading grocery retailers in the UK; which is why it leaves the management of its customer parking to the professionals.

With annual sales of around �9 billion, attracting something like 8 million shoppers every week, it is crucial that Safeway concentrate on its core business. So, after a 10 year relationship with the supermarket chain, car park management expert CP Plus was appointed its preferred national contractor in 2000, responsible for handling all aspects of customer, visitor and staff parking.

Gavin Povey from CP Plus said: "Safeway is very store specific and we have now built up a great relationship with individual store managers to discuss their particular requirements. We tailor-make a car park management scheme to suit each different site, depending upon the number of customers, average basket size, how long the average customer spends in the store, etc."

Safeway management structure means that each store manager is very much in control and they are the best people to set and maintain standards for their customers.

Richard Atkins, Operational Effectiveness Manager at Safeway said: "There is a lot of trust involved in our relationship with CP Plus. In fact, when a store manager is faced with a car parking problem these days, we tell them to contact a CP Plus project manager direct."

Car parking can be a tricky business, from both the point of view of the customer and the retailer and a badly designed or managed car park can lose revenue, customers, or both.

It is estimated that every supermarket car parking space occupied by a non-customer loses the business �200 per day and with some supermarkets losing up to 10 per cent of their spaces their losses can be as much as �500,000 per year.

Gavin Povey says: "Our research shows that shoppers who are unable to park are likely to drive on to another retailer where parking is better policed. The loss of business and goodwill can be significant."

But a professional management system can prevent this, as Richard Atkins explains: "We make no charge at our Aylesbury superstore car park. When we found that people were parking there and walking into town to shop, CP Plus advised that we impose a one hour limit to discourage non-shoppers taking spaces away from our customers.

"Similarly at Milton Keynes, there is no charge for parking, but we now impose a two hour limit to avoid a similar problem."

Safeway's criteria for a well managed car park is that parking in no way impedes the customer's shopping experience, they can arrive and leave without any hassle and they feel safe.

There are a number of different parking enforcement methods used at Safeway stores, from pay and display, to barriers, security staff on site, or time limits. The best system is implemented depending upon local areas of difficulty, such as the level of parking abuse, or whether the car parking facilities are shared with other retailers; is the car park in the city centre, or out of town?

Enforcement is a sensitive issue and CP Plus does not believe in a heavy handed approach. Gavin explains: "We prefer to emphasise the positive and to work through encouragement and prevention. However, if robust enforcement is required, for instance to protect customers' interests, or safeguard clients' revenue streams, then we have the processes and the people in place to act decisively.

"A secure, pleasant, efficient and well-run car park is an important part of the whole shopping experience and the first impression customers get when they visit a store. These are shoppers' car parks and we help our clients keep them for their customers through effective and sensitive car park management and control."formation on a parking policy to suit your organisation, visit www.cp-plus.co.uk and download a Parking Guide.

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NHS: Partnership approach makes for healthy hospital parking

Hospital parking needs to be managed with sensitivity and consideration. NHS trust managers have the demanding task of balancing the interests of healthcare professionals, who understandably want convenient, secure and affordable parking when they come to work, and patients and their families, who want a stress-free parking experience when they visit hospital. Yet at the same time, NHS Trusts, like other public sector bodies, have a duty to ensure their assets are professionally and cost-effectively run.

North Staffordshire Hospital NHS Trust, one of the biggest and busiest in the UK, believes it has got the balance just right. Since 1995, its parking facilities have been handled by CP Plus.

In all, the Trust employs some 6,700 staff and looks after more than 77,000 in-patients and around 365,000 outpatients. CP Plus won an initial five-year contract in open tender to implement and manage parking facilities at their sites. Then in May 2001, following a retendering process, the company was awarded an expanded car park management and security contract by the Trust.

Since May 2001, CP Plus has provided North Staffordshire NHS Trust a �400,000 state-of-the-art CCTV system and control room, funded entirely by CP Plus. The CCTV project is run on an informal Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis, which enables the funding investment to be spread over the duration of the contract.

North Staffordshire NHS Trust's hospital facilities are located at four sites in the Stoke on Trent area. CP Plus provides more than 30 car park staff to manage the parking facilities, with coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In recent months, construction work at the Trust's largest site has tested CP Plus' resourcefulness to the full. However, even with the pressure on, staff have continued to manage parking with sympathy and efficiency.

"CP Plus have been accommodating and adaptable," comments Alice Day, Head of Supplies at the Trust. "Their staff have worked with us to manage temporary parking and help direct people to available spaces, demonstrating how flexible and co-operative they are."

For added security, the Trust's purpose-built CP Plus operated control room is linked to the police via the Starnet communications system. This allows control room operators to be in direct radio contact with the police. Incidents can be reported quickly, allowing for a more rapid police response.

The CCTV system, installed in November 2001, involves substantial use of fibreoptics and consists of 77 cameras, covering car parks and other exterior areas. It also includes public help points, providing instant contact with control room operators when needed. The system has proved to be extremely effective, considerably reducing crime levels at all the sites.

The Trust places great value on the extra security this affords. "The direct link to the police is extremely important to us. It gives us a headstart if there is an incident and is very reassuring for staff and patients," comments Day. All CP Plus control room operators receive police training in the use of Starnet.

For many people a visit to a hospital means an anxious time. "People want to find a parking place as close as possible to the department or ward they are visiting," says Day. "We find CP Plus staff are helpful and understanding, always ready to assist people if they can. We receive very few complaints on parking and enforcement issues."

In order to keep things running smoothly the Trust and CP Plus maintain frequent contact. They are able to discuss strategic matters, such as staffing levels and maintaining the right balance between pay and display and staff parking schemes.

"We've been working with CP Plus for quite a long period now and have enjoyed good relations with them," says Alice Day. "For us, the most important thing about the relationship is that it is very much a partnership."

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