Post 80 – Problem No.1 | Parking (10 Minute Read) 9/02/25

+ Introduction

This is the first in a series of Posts that looks at possible solutions to the problems caused by Royal Holloway’s expansion.

Each post will take the same format. The problem will be identified and the proposed solution(s) presented. 

You are then invited to discuss the problem and proposed solution in the WhatsApp Group Forum – WNTTARH’s (See link to this group in the footnote.)

We feel that putting forward solutions to Royal Holloway is fraught with jeopardy as it is easy for them to argue as to why they can’t do something – the solutions should really come from within. However, as we experienced over the summer of ‘23, asking Royal Holloway to come up with meaningful mitigations to negate its impact bears no fruit. (See links to Posts 36 and 47 in the footnote.) 

Today though, Royal Holloway has come to the table and this is a significant opportunity for the local community.

We do hope that our representatives will come away from these discussions with a tangible plan of action. The goal is to have Long Term solutions but it may require short term sticking plasters too for immediate relief. Where appropriate we will supply these too for discussion.

So let’s make a start, the nightmare that is parking…

+ Parking | Definition & Identification

– Parking in the local community during term time, especially in the roads near to campus and/ or where there are high densities of HMOs, is difficult morning, noon and night. Not only are the street spaces full, vehicles are also regularly seen parked on double yellow lines – an obvious safety concern. Residents on these streets often experience inconsiderate parking too with driveways and garages being blocked. Cars are often seen fully mounted on the pavements, making life difficult/ dangerous for pedestrians.

– As the university has grown, it has not increased its parking provision, in fact it has reduced it.

🚗 2004: 1225 regular parking bays and 54 disabled spaces 

🚗 2014: 1325 regular parking bays and 58 disabled spaces 

🚗 2024: 1202 regular parking bays and 54 disabled spaces

– If we look at the period between 2014 and 2024, this represents a decrease in parking spaces of 9%. And over the same period, the university grew its student population by more than 28%.

– The main university campus car parks have surpassed capacity. During a15 minute visit on the morning of 4th Feb ‘25 we saw the following:

🚙 No free parking spaces available anywhere for general use. 

🚙 Cars idling whilst waiting for other cars to leave

🚙 Multiple cars and trade vehicles parked in disabled bays with no blue badge being visibly displayed

🚙 Cars parked in EV charging point bays not being charged

🚙 Cars double parked

🚙 Cars parked on double yellow lines

🚙 Cars parked at end of marked bays (in the roads)

🚙 Cars and other vehicles parked partially mounted and fully mounted on pavements

🚙 Drop Off/ Loading Bays being used for parking – and subsequent delivery drivers double parking in order to conduct their business.

🚙 And we followed a car onto campus, drive around the car parks and leave the campus unable to park after 15 minutes

🚙 A frustrated visitor parking in the entrance of the Founder’s Building looking for advice on what to do

– Royal Holloway has resorted to renting third party parking space in order to ease pressure. E.G. The car park of the Catholic Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Harvest Road, Englefield Green.

– Many car commuters to Royal Holloway use the streets around the campus to park. These are either: Permit Holders that cannot find a space or Non Permit Holders.

– New Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) often constructed with little or no parking provision, E.G. George Eliot Halls (624 rooms, 0 parking spaces) has compounded the parking problem with some of these residents parking on the surrounding streets.

– The high density of student HMOs has further compounded the problem. Many HMOs have more cars than a traditional family household. (See RBC Report; recognised problems caused by high densities of student HMOs)

– A lack of public transport from parts of London (one of Royal Holloway’s target markets) has led to driving to campus being the only option for some commuters.

– Royal Holloway acknowledges that the issue of parking has been a long term source of anger and frustration for local residents. (Strides Treglowns 1.1.5, Planning application RU.24/931: Vehicular Access To Rusham Park Site.)

– Royal Holloway’s Estate Plan highlights the mothballing of car park aspirations, due to financial reasons.

– The Royal Holloway Student Union (RHSU) has identified that there is a need to improve parking on the Egham campus. (See Item 1.)

https://www.su.rhul.ac.uk/elections/2025/priority8

– As the university plans to grow by a further 30%, to 15,000 students by 2030, the demand for parking will undoubtedly increase.

– The pressure on parking spaces in the local community has led to the formation of residents groups lobbying politicians and local leaders. E.G. Simons Walk

– Some local residents leave notes on cars/ challenge students about parking on ‘their’ streets. Regrettably, the abject failure of Royal Holloway’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to address this issue over a protracted period has led to resentment towards students in many corners of our community.

+ Parking | Proposal – Immediate Short Term Solution (To Be Delivered Within 1 Year)

🚕 Royal Holloway to introduce and operate a new free to use Park & Ride scheme to campus from its Rusham Park Site Car Park (or another more appropriate site).

🚕 Introduction of new Parking Permit scheme in the streets close to Royal Holloway, sponsored by Royal Holloway.

🚕 Introduction on New Parking Measures, including CPZs and Double Yellow Lines, further into the community so that the problem is not pushed outside the Parking Permit Scheme area, sponsored by Royal Holloway.

🚕 Royal Holloway to review growth plans for student numbers.

+ Parking | Proposal – Long Term Solution  (To Be Delivered Within 2 Years)

🚕 Royal Holloway to build a 400+ multi storey car park on its main campus – possibly on the location of the new Omnidrone Facility, the recently erected prefabricated Maintenance Buildings and the recently positioned shipping containers.

🚕 Royal Holloway to cancel the Park & Ride scheme.

🚕 Parking Permit scheme in the streets close to Royal Holloway to be maintained and sponsored by Royal Holloway.

🚕 New Parking Measures in the community to be maintained and sponsored by Royal Holloway.

+ Parking | Rationale

– Introducing a Parking Permit Scheme will alleviate the parking stress in the local community.

– Building a multi-story Car Park will alleviate parking stress on Royal Holloway’s main campus.

– Putting in further parking measures in the community will prevent the parking problem being pushed further into the community.

– Having a freeze on student recruitment will reduce the pressure on Royal Holloway’s limited parking. (Following our car park visit of last week, it is clear that Royal Holloway has outgrown its Egham campus.)

– Introducing the measures will help restore Royal Holloway’s good name.

+ Parking | Conclusion

Though parking stress on campus is not a direct problem for local residents, it is the root cause of the problem in the community. 

We think that the parking problem needs to be treated holistically in order for there to be a good outcome for both parties: Royal Holloway and local residents. That is to say, you need to both build a car park and implement a Parking Permit Scheme in order for there to be a solution – if you were to have a Parking Permit Scheme in the local community without a 400+ multi-storey car park there would be absolute chaos (more chaos ) at Royal Holloway. 

And finally, there were one or two spaces in a tucked away car park (see pic below)  – the SLT has some reserved spaces. This one belongs to the Principal of Royal Holloway, Prof. Julie Sanders. 

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So what do you think? Do you think the above is a fair assessment of the problem? Do you think the solution is pragmatic, fair and reasonable? We welcome your thoughts in the forum.

Best wishes,

We Need To Talk About Royal Holloway

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