On 3rd October 2006 Cambridgeshire County Council provided details of park & ride sites in the county, two of which have spaces for motorhomes. The document can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format from Here.
Cambridgeshire County Council have details of park & ride sites in the county on their web site Here.
Update 20 June 2007:
In response to a query on weight limits, following up from that sent to Cambridge City Council (see below), Cambridgeshire County Council stated "We do not have any weight restriction in the Park & Rides. The information I gave last year is still correct with the extra sized bays at Babraham and Trumpington. The massive motorhomes some people use may have trouble negotiating the internal road ways depending on their driving skill. The trouble is these motorhomes are getting bigger and are the same size as large lorries or coaches and no Park & Rides were designed with these oversized vehicles in mind."
Cambridge City
On 3rd October 2006 Cambridge City Council provided details of parking provided on street which includes on street pay and display and the parking provided using City Centre Car Parks plus two leaflets, one containing a car park map and one which includes information regarding the Park & Ride Scheme in operation. These document can be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format by clicking on the following links: 1. On street & car park details, 2. Car park map, 3. Get Into Cambridge leaflet.
On 4th October 2006 the council provided the following extra information:
Cambridge City Council run 5 multi storey car parks, and 3 open air Pay and Display car parks.
1. There are height restrictions in our multi storey car parks: Lion Yard = 6'6"; Grafton East = 6'6"; Grafton West = 6'6"; Park Street = 6'6"; Queen Anne Terrace = 7'. There are no height restrictions in any of the 3 off street car parks (Adam & Eve, Castle Street, Gwydir Street).
2. All vehicles are required to park within the bay markings in all of our car parks, and if they are not then the vehicle is liable to receive a Penalty Charge Notice. Even if you purchase 2 tickets to represent parking in 2 bays.
3. There are no waste disposal facilities in any of the car parks. The Grafton car parks are part of the Grafton Shopping Centre so there are toilets located near by. Park Street car park has toilets on site that cost 20p. The other car parks do not offer toilet facilities on site.
4. There are no spaces specifically aimed at motorhomes or caravans.
5. All of our car parks are open 24/7 so it is acceptable to park a vehicle as long as you need. However, the multi storey car parks are aimed at short stay only so to park for any length of time will be very expensive. The Pay and Display car parks do have time restrictions on them so they will have to be followed. The council provided a current list of fees and charging times; these can be accessed on the council's web site (see link below).
6. I would say that all of our multi storey car parks would be too narrow as well as too low. Out of the Pay and Display car parks I would say that Castle Street car park is the most spacious. I think the other 2 car parks (Adam & Eve, Gwydir Street) would be too tight to manoeuvre a motorhome or caravan.
Cambridge City Council have further details on their web site Here.
Update 20 June 2007:
The "On street & car park details" included in the initial reply from Cambridge City Council above referred to a weight limit for on-street parking of 1.5 tonnes. Some time after the initial reply had been received it came to my notice that many other vehicles (e.g. large 4x4s) weigh in excess of 1.5 tonnes (some of the largest 4x4s even being heavier than many motorhomes). A further request for information was sent to the council asking for clarification. In response the council stated "Whilst there is a maximum weight limit put into place by the Highways Department of Cambridgeshire County Council our Parking Attendants do not currently enforce this and therefore no training has been provided to determine on street whether a vehicle exceeds the weight limit. A Penalty Charge Notice can be issued to motorhomes/ large vehicles if the vehicle in question does not fit wholly within the bay markings or is not displaying a valid pay and display ticket. May I suggest that you contact Cambridgeshire Highways for further information regarding the weight limit in place."
On 27th June 2007, Cambridgeshire County Council stated "This is indeed not a practicable option for parking attendants to assess the weight of a vehicle. In the case of pay and display the criteria which the City Council has stated are correct in that the vehicle must park so as to be entirely within the bay and be displaying a valid ticket."
East Cambridgeshire
East Cambridgeshire Borough Council (new window) have provided details of their car parks.
Fenland
On 9th January 2008 Fenland District Council provided the following information:
We have reviewed and updated the information that was previously issued to you in August 2006 regarding Fenland District Council car parks as follows:-
1) Fenland District Council car parks do not have any height restrictions in place at this present time.
2) Fenland District Council does not currently charge for parking. However, vehicles parked, of any type, are expected to adhere to the bays and conditions as indicated.
3) Public toilets are available at certain car parks under Fenland District Council control, but no other waste disposal facilities exist.
4) No specific provision is made at any Fenland District Council car parks for Motorhomes or Caravans.
5) The only car park under Fenland District Council control that has provision for overnight parking is City Road Lorry Park, March. All others have either unrestricted parking OR have time limitation or vehicle type restrictions in place.
6) There are no specific narrow entrances to Fenland District Council car parks. However, manoeuvring within the car parks at peak times can be difficult for anything larger than a standard car.
Further information can be obtained for all car parks in the Fenland area on the Fenland web site and at the carparks4u.com web site.
Huntingdonshire
On 29th August 2006 Huntingdonshire District Council provided the following information:
We do not have height restrictions
Vehicles are required to park within marked bays. This is not explicit where more than one bay is taken as to whether 2 tickets are required.
No waste disposal points exist. Toilet are present at: Riverside Huntingdon; Riverside St Neots; Tebbutts Rd, St Neots; Globe Place St Ives; Cattle Market St Ives.
No spaces provided for motorhomes or caravans The Order says "Classes of Vehicles (i) Motor cars within the provisions of Section 136(2)(a) of the Act; (ii) Motor cycles as defined in Section 136(4) of the Act; (iii) Motor vehicles constructed or adapted for use for the conveyance of goods or burden the unladen weight of which does not exceed 3.5 tonnes; (iv) Invalid carriages as defined in Section 136(5) of the Act; (v) Self propelled caravans as defined in Regulation 3(2) of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986."
No overnight camping or sleeping allowed in any of our car parks
All car parks have access for the vehicles allowed, but limited room for large vehicles to manoeuvre internally.
The council provided copies of the parking orders which have been loaded to this site in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format at Order 1 and Order 2
On 10 December 2007, in response to a follow-up query, the council replied as follows:
The Charged Car Parking Order which covers all the charged car parks in the town centres states:
Where parking bays are provided then the driver of a vehicle shall park the vehicle properly in the marked parking bay and not in such a position as to cause an obstruction.
Classes of Vehicles (allowed): (i) Motor cars within the provisions of Section 136(2)(a) of the Act; (ii) Motor cycles as defined in Section 136(4) of the Act; (iii) Motor vehicles constructed or adapted for use for the conveyance of goods or burden the unladen weight of which does not exceed 3.5 tonnes; (iv) Invalid carriages as defined in Section 136(5) of the Act; (v) Self propelled caravans as defined in Regulation 3(2) of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.
So, the Order allows Motor Homes but states that they must fit within the marked bays. The bays are generally 5 metres by 2.5 metres. There are no large bays marked in the town centre car parks
For free cars parks, the class of vehicles is slightly different: Classes of vehicles: (a) Motor cars within the provisions of Section 136(2) (a) of the Act of 1984; (b) Motor cycles as defined in Section 136 (4) of the Act of 1984; (c) Motor vehicles constructed or adapted for use for the conveyance of goods or burden the unladen weight of which does not exceed one tonne; (d) Invalid carriages as defined in Section 136 (5) of the Act of 1984; (e) Caravans as defined in Section 26 (13) of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1978 which do not exceed four metres in length
The Order also states: No person shall use any part of a parking place or any vehicle left in a parking place or anything towed by a vehicle: (a) for residing or sleeping or camping or cooking
Huntingdonshire District Council have further parking details on their web site.
Peterborough
On 29th September 2006 Peterborough City Council provided the following information:
Useful information on car parking is provided on the Council’s website Here.
1. Height restrictions. Of the City Council Car Parks only Riverside, Brook Street and Trinity Street (further restricted to evenings and weekends only) have no height restrictions.
2. Requirements for parking within bay confines (including any requirement for purchasing two parking tickets where the length of a vehicle means that it overhangs a second bay at its rear). The signage within City Council car parks states that “You must purchase a ticket for any trailer or caravan, where you occupy more than one bay”.
3. Any provision of toilet and waste disposal facilities. Public toilets are present at the Car Haven & Multi Storey Car Park, but neither can accommodate large vehicles.
4. Any provision of spaces specifically aimed at motorhomes and/or caravans. None within PCC car parks.
5. Any provision for (or ban on) overnight parking. Camping is prohibited in all PCC carparks but overnight parking is permitted, providing the requisite tickets are purchased and displayed. There is a city wide ban in Peterborough that prohibits any vehicle (exceeding 5T maximum gross weight) parking on-street overnight.
6. Restricted access caused by narrow roads/entrances. Of the car parks that can accommodate motorhomes, Riverside and Brook Street both have wide entrances but Trinity Street has a narrow entrance.
On 9th April 2008, in response to a follow-up request, the council confirmed that the above information was still current.
Peterborough City Council have further information for car parks on their web site Here.
Users of this web site have provided the following information:
Peterborough
Flag Fen Bronze Age Centre, The Droveway, Northey Road, Peterborough, PE6 7QJ. We visited the archaeological tourist site 'Flag Fen' at the weekend and wish to report positively about the parking arrangements. No height or width barriers at entrance to the car park. Good access road. Room to manoeuvre in the car park. Opportunity to park large motorhome (ours is 23') although we visited out of season when the car park was not full. There are un-marked areas to park. It would not be possible to camp overnight. (Thanks very much to M&MF for this information, received 7 March 2007).
South Cambridgeshire
On 29th September 2006 South Cambridgeshire District Council provided the following information:
Firstly, this Council currently owns four public car parks as follows: High Street, Histon; Coles Lane, Linton; High Street, Melbourn; High Street, Sawston and the following car park is leased by the Council: Woollards Lane, Great Shelford.
All of these car parks are free of charge and are primarily for the use of local village residents and people using the nearby shops.
Histon has both a height restriction and a narrow accessway.
Linton and Great Shelford both have narrow accessways.
Melbourn and Sawston are the largest car parks but there are no spaces specifically provided for motorhomes/caravans.
Sawston in particular is a well-used car park.
None of the car parks provide toilet and waste disposal facilities.
The Council would not support overnight parking in any of its car parks.
Motorhomes could be parked at Melbourn and Sawston but only on a short-term basis.
Return to Motorhome Friendly and Unfriendly Parking home page.
Last updated: 9 April 2008