The Sainsburys car park at Southgate in Huddersfield is the latest to be recognised for its standards of security. Four months ago the store picked up the ‘Park Mark’ Safer Parking Award at its sister supermarket on Market Street.
Its latest accolade, an Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) national initiative which replaced the Secured Car Park Award and is managed by the British Parking Association (BPA).
To qualify, a car park must attain standards of safety and security and also have lower crime than the streets around it.
Huddersfield Architectural Liaison Officer, Gerry Gallagher says it shows a commitment to reducing crime: "Over the last few months we have been working very closely with the store making sure that high standards of security are maintained. It is testiment to the store and its staff that they have achieved two awards for their car parks in such a short space of time.
"There are clearly benefits to being involved in this scheme. A car park which has little or no crime is obviously much more tempting for customers to park in than one that suffers regularly from damage and thefts.
"The award is aimed at reducing crime and the fear of crime in parking facilities. It requires the owners or operators to adopt an active management strategy to ensure that there is a minimal occurrence of crime, in a safe and non threatening environment.
"The Park Mark Award can be gained by applicants whose car park achieves the requirements of a risk assessment which is carried out by a Police Architectural Liaison Officer.
"The Award Scheme also provides guidance to owners, operators and developers of car parks on how to maintain a safe and secure environment through proven management processes, physical measures and site security, having considered crime and disorder levels within the local area.
"Hopefully this latest award will be a sign to other premises in the Kirklees District that they too can meet these standards and be recognised for their efforst in fighting crime."
