The reality of parking in Milton Keynes by Bucks Biz

Car owners parking in the centre of Milton Keynes recently got a nasty shock! When the owners returned to their cars, they were greeted with a parking ticket.

Luckily these tickets were fakes; they were in fact flyers left by Bucks Biz promoting the free parking at all their Business Centres.

But the message left us thinking? Do they have a point?

1,000’s of £60.00 fixed penalty charges are levied in Central Milton Keynes each week.

For a single car, parking charges in Milton Keynes City Centre can cost you between £180.00 and £380.00 per year, based on a single car owner working 40 hours per week for 48 weeks of the year, (car parking fees are assumed at 20p per hour).

“For a small business employing just a handful of people those parking charges can represent a substantial cost.” said Joe Muscat, chairman of Bucks Biz Business Centres. “We thought a spoof parking ticket would best get our point across - that parking in the centre of Milton Keynes is expensive not to mention time consuming (providing you can actually find a space that is). Most people genuinely didn’t think about the annual cost of parking in Milton Keynes, and so this marketing campaign has been very successful”.

When asked if Mr Muscat received any complaints about his marketing campaign he answered, “we have received quite a few complaints, but not at the leaflets we dropped. The complaints agreed that parking in the centre is difficult, to some impossible. Complaints about the price not only to park but to commute on public transport”.

Bucks Biz Centres have seen a rental increase over the past couple of months so we asked Carol Carey, centre manager for MK:TWO Business Centre if parking was the deciding factor for the increase in rentals. “It certainly helps” she said “free parking coupled with the many other benefits we offer such as month to month leases, instant occupation, 24 hour access, no legal fees, no service charge, fully inclusive monthly rent, security patrols and individual alarms to all units to name but a few”.

“The whole package we offer is an attractive proposition to any business owner, but if you had to pin me down to one, I would say what you get for the price. Especially when you factor in how much you pay for services like telecommunications and broadband which we reduce. Also what you can legitimately claim back, tax wise, it makes financial business sense, and in the current financial climate that is king”.

With more businesses looking to locate outside the city centre because of parking reasons we think Bucks Biz could have a point, and parking at all Bucks Biz Business Centres are free!

For more information call 01908 821000 or visit www.bucksbizspace.co.uk