More car parks gain award for security

Motorists will be able to park more securely thanks to improvements to more car parks by Havering Council.

Three more car parks have achieved the national Park Mark status, which is awarded to parking facilities that have passed a risk assessment by the police.

The car parks are the Town Hall Car Park in Romford, Billet Lane in Hornchurch and North Street, Hornchurch.

These three add to the other four sites already accredited this year - Gaynes Road, Upminster; Woodhall Crescent, Hornchurch; Keswick Ave, Hornchurch and St Nicholas Ave, Hornchurch. Along with Angel way, there are now eight Park Mark facilities in the borough.

To get the accolade, measures were put in place to deter criminal activity and antisocial behaviour, and therefore reduce the fear of crime in car parks. These included resurfacing work, better lighting, shrubbery cut back, secure fencing and the repainting of parking bays.

Councillor Barry Tebbutt, Cabinet Member for StreetCare, said: "We now have eight car parks with Park Mark status – seven of which achieved the accolade this year. Residents, visitors and shoppers can now have a much safer experience when using our car parks and reducing the fear of crime is one of our Living Ambition goals."