One of the sites is being demolished in the coming year and the other has just closed at short notice

The Huntingdon Street NCP car park closed with just 24 hours of notice(Image: Joseph Raynor/Nottingham Post)

The story of car parking in Nottingham can essentially be told by standing slap bang in the middle of the Broad Marsh Green Heart and looking side to side.

On one side stands the modern Broad Marsh Car Park opened by the city council a few years ago, which to my mind is about as aesthetically pleasing as it is possible for a car park to be.

On the other side stands a decaying monument, blocking the view of Nottingham Castle, in the form of NCP’s Maid Marian Way Car Park.

One building represents the future and the other, soon to be demolished as part of the Broad Marsh redevelopment, represents the past.

That sense was compounded this week as we learnt that the team working on the administration process for NCP had decided to close another of its loss-making Nottingham car parks – off Huntingdon Street.

Whilst nobody chooses a car parking spot based on how pretty a multi-storey building might be, NCP’s financial woes speak to a bigger problem for all operators and mark a major test for Nottingham City Council.

I’ve previously argued that we have had incredibly mixed messaging about car parking from the city council – which, on the one hand, wants us to live ‘car free’ as it tries to make Nottingham a carbon neutral city, whilst on the other wants to continue boosting its coffers from an area which is considered by the authority as a ‘cash cow’.

I pointed out that the two contrasting messages would have to be reconciled at some point and the collapse of NCP marks a major test on this front.

The Alliance of British Drivers argued that the city council now needs to ensure there remains adequate options for car parking in Nottingham.

Yet given the well-documented issues faced by NCP, alongside the exorbitant costs of running a huge car park these days, the idea that the Huntingdon Street site will be replaced seems fanciful.

In the absence of private sector interest, the response to this loss of hundreds of Nottingham car parking spaces rests largely with the city council.

Demand has clearly reduced thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and the effects it had in terms of remote working and online shopping.

An immediate scramble to find new spaces is therefore unnecessary, yet huge housing and commercial developments planned for Nottingham over the coming years means a long-term response is needed.

It is in drawing up that longer-term response that Nottingham City Council can finally bring an end to its mixed messaging on car parking.

Continuing to invest in its own more modern sites will be key as the government’s ever-shifting goalposts on banning petrol and diesel cars means they will be here to stay for the foreseeable, even if they are not coming into the city as much when compared to pre-covid times.

Yet, in terms of further demand that may come from new developments, the city council cannot meet this by whacking up new multi-storeys if it is to maintain a straight face whilst saying it wants carbon neutrality for Nottingham.

Key to meeting the demand will be incredibly careful consideration when it comes to ongoing discussions about the best locations for an extension of Nottingham’s tram network.

There is already talk about building an extension linked to specific developments, yet consideration is also needed in terms of how NET could serve wider conurbations.

Bus operators have complained previously about how they can sometimes be forgotten in such discussions – and they will also have a major role to play in meeting future demand.

The city council’s own ambition to make Nottingham carbon neutral by 2028 has also shifted somewhat – but a section of its website for this campaign still reads: “Living car free is one of the best actions you can take to reduce your carbon emissions.”

In responding to the loss of two major multi-storey car parks, Nottingham City Council will now show whether it is serious about making such a ‘car free’ life a realistic prospect for many.