I was honored to be invited to the British Parking Awards. They are given annually by an independent group, headed by Parking Review Magazine. (Not affiliated with the British Parking Association.)
The event was held at the Lancaster Gate Hotel in central London. It opened with a reception and then continued with a luncheon and the awards presentations. To quote the Parking Review:
The British Parking Awards gala lunch is the premier social event in the UK parking calendar. The 2015 ceremony, which took place in the 4-star surroundings of the Lancaster London hotel, was hosted by television presenter and Paralympic wheelchair basketball player Ade Adepitan.
Having survived polio as a youngster, Ade Adepitan has gone on to compete as a wheelchair basketball player on an international level and has since built up a wealth of broadcasting experience.
An instantly recognisable face, Ade traverses the world for BBC World’s The Travel Show and is a reporter on Channel 4’s foreign affairs series Unreported World, which has seen him report from Honduras and Cuba. Other documentary work includes Ade Adepitan: Journey of my Lifetime, which saw him return to his birthplace Nigeria to explore why polio remains endemic there.
Here’s a shot of Ade and the winners of the “Best new Car Park” Award.
I was hosted by our European correspondent, Peter Guest, and was fortunate to sit between Parking Review Editor Mark Moran and British Parking Association”s Keith Barnbury. Keith is the former CEO of the BPA and sits on their council.
I had a great discussion with Mark on how he puts the award program together (Peter is one of their judges) and with Keith on the attack against the BPA by a citizens group that seems to have an aversion to parking fees. See my comments on the next blog.
I found it interesting that although the BPA is not a part of the British Parking Awards or connected with Parking Review, they work closely together to promote parking in the UK. The BPA has a magazine, but it focuses on its members. This is much the same relationship that Parking Today has with the National Parking Association. NPA President Christine Banning and I believe that a rising tide raises all boats.
I will always wonder why the ‘other’ parking association in the US doesn’t seem to want to be involved with the two of us. Oh well….
JVH
