Park Mark Status for Kirkcaldy's car parks

In a first for Fife and Scotland , all 14 of Kirkcaldy's pay & display car parks have been granted ‘Park Mark' status.

The safer parking status, ‘Park Mark' is awarded to parking facilities that have met the requirements of a risk assessment carried out by the Police. T he parking facilities must prove that the appropriate measures are in place which reduce crime and the fear of crime, and that they have a safe and non-threatening environment. The scheme is run by the British Parking Association (BPA) in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers and supported by the Home Office and the Scottish Government.

Presenting the award to members of Fife Constabulary and Fife Council, Tom Porter, business development manager of the Safer Parking Scheme said: “These 14 awards further strengthens the commitment of Fife Council to creating a safe and secure environment for residents, shoppers and visitors to the town. This is a first for a local authority in Scotland to gain so many awards for one town.”

Chair of environment, enterprise & transportation, Councillor Tony Martin welcomed the award and continued: “It's important that people feel safe when they use our car parks and that the areas are well maintained with better lighting and signage. The achievement of this external accreditation gives confidence to people that Community Safety remains one of the Council's Big 8 priorities.”

On behalf of Fife Constabulary, Chief Inspector Communities Policing Gary Crawford said: “The benefits of a facility achieving ‘Park Mark' status are wide reaching. The ultimate reduction in the fear of crime for users means that the facility will be used in preference to those which are not recognised as safer.” He added: “It also helps to reduce the burden placed on the Police following incidents within a parking facility. If we can reduce the number of victims of crime within parking facilities through the scheme it encourages persons to use the facility and ultimately increases the use of businesses within the area.”

This was echoed by Councillor Alice Soper, chair of Kirkcaldy Area Committee who added: “To be the first in Scotland to gain the ‘Park Mark' accreditation for so many car parks in one town shows the importance we place on making Kirkcaldy a good place to live, work and visit and is an important development in Kirkcaldy's Town Centre Regeneration.”

Kirkcaldy Town Centre Management Chair, Colin Brown commented: "Kirkcaldy Town Centre Management (KTCM) has worked hard with a number of agencies to have the town centre's car parks achieve the Park Mark award. Sunil Varu our town centre manager has had many meetings with amongst others the Scottish Business Crime Centre, Fife Constabulary and Fife Council. I am delighted Fife Council has now agreed that they will proceed with capturing the Park Mark Awards. This is another fine example of what can be achieved when the Council agree to work in partnership with KTCM. Park Mark is a UK-wide accreditation on safer car parks and will reinforce the community safety message we have, in conjunction with the efforts of Fife Constabulary, been promoting in the town centre. This will also represent the single largest set of awards being given to any community at the same time which can only be good for further enhancing the reputation of Kirkcaldy. The Town Centre car parks have been much maligned over the years but this national accreditation in relation to the safety of our town centre car parks will hopefully serve to further encourage people to visit Kirkcaldy as a safe and secure retail destination of choice."