Make more of your assets


CASE STUDY: WE RUN A CAR PARK FOR TWICKENHAM RUGBY FANS


in ichfield, taordshire, ringing in  was a revelation. ter visiting another primary school that had taken its catering service inhouse with the help o , I decided to do the same. ur menus are now made with etterquality products and presentation has improved. his has led to an increase in the numer o pupils uying school meals, with the potential to ring in an etra , each year.  new reak menu has also increased income y  a week.


‘Nelson Primary was one of the first schools in the area to open a car park for Twickenham Stadium. We are within a short walk of the stadium and the RFU asked if we could provide parking while one of the stands was being refurbished. That was 25 years ago and the car park has been the PTA’s main source of income ever since. We offer a high level of service.


Up to five volunteers per hour meet and greet our customers at the school gate, show them where to park and give directions to the stadium. We use our staff car park and the school playgrounds. We also open up the toilets – something that is much appreciated by our customers as many have travelled for several hours, and some even fly in from other countries (especially when the stadium hosts big concerts). We aim to park more than 100


vehicles per match. England matches typically attract a lot of four-wheel-drive cars, but for concerts people often arrive in small cars and we can fit more in. We also have space for minibuses and one coach or limo. If people come on a motorbike, we are happy to store their helmet and leathers. One of our biggest challenges is the weather. It can be freezing cold, boiling hot, rainy or snowy. We have to be prepared for anything!


18 AUTUMN 2019 FundEd We sell spaces online via our


website twickenhamparking.co.uk. We’re around £5-£10 cheaper than official RFU car parks, and our customers like supporting our school rather than commercial organisations. The website, staffing, communication and cleaning is all run by PTA volunteers. After covering the costs of the


website and credit card fees, we make around 97% profit per car space. This brings in thousands of pounds a year. It has helped us to fund major projects, as well as supplementing school trips and workshops and paying for books, transport and sports equipment. Our last major project was a


£15,000 refurbishment of the school library. Customers have also been topping up our book fund with donations. Car park fees have additionally paid for permanent stage lighting for school productions, and we’ve just bought some lovely recycled plastic picnic tables and buddy benches that the children and customers will be able to enjoy.’ Mary Weaver, Nelson Primary School PTA, Whitton, Twickenham (432 pupils)


Can you capitalise on your car park? uring the school day the car park never seems ig enough, ut at weekends and during the holidays these spaces are oten deserted. o why not turn this to your advantage ome schools oer parking or local events on a cashycar asis. s can also use car parks to host car oot sales. owever, y advertising your car park online, you gain access to a much larger market, particularly i youre in a popular location near a town centre, train station or attraction where parking is limited and epensive. or instance, its ree to list your car park on the app and wesite ustark, which has more than a million users who pay to reserve spaces online. ou can set availaility times, and the money goes straight to the school account.


Do you have any unused land? o one wants to see school playing fields disappear, ut perhaps there is a encedo area or a mothalled uilding that could e sold without aecting the quality o your educational provision. he s property company, ocat, has identified a pilot group o  schools that have surplus land or estates in poor condition, such as dilapidated tennis courts and disused uildings. It suggests such schools could generate windalls o etween , and  million, possily or school reuilds comined with new housing. ear in mind that there are competing interests at play here as most school land is owned y local authorities or dioceses, with only one in ten schools owning their own land.


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