Parking
One bay each. That is the whole rule.
The basement bays at Swift House and Soar House are not communal. Each one is allocated to a particular apartment under the terms of its lease, or is held by MHA. This page sets out what that means in practice, and lets you register the vehicle that uses your bay.
The position
Why the board has written about this.
A significant number of vehicles have been parked in bays that do not belong to them, and it has been getting steadily worse rather than better. Residents whose lease allocates them a bay have found themselves unable to use it.
Each bay in the basement is demised to a particular apartment under the terms of that apartment's lease, or is held by MHA. A demised bay is not a first-come space and it is not a shared amenity: the apartment it belongs to has exclusive use of it. Parking in a bay that is not yours, without the agreement of the bay's owner or a director, is a breach of the lease, however brief the stay, and it is an interference with someone else's property.
The board is taking professional advice on formal parking enforcement for the basement. Nobody on the board wants to introduce it. It would add cost to the service charge and inconvenience every resident who already parks correctly, all because of a minority. Whether it becomes necessary depends on what happens over the coming weeks.
- 1Park in your own bay.Your allocated bay only, however short the stay, unless a director has agreed otherwise. The company's own contractors, deliveries and removals are arranged separately — see below.
- 2Not sure which bay is yours?Check your lease. If you are still unsure after checking, ask Letters Block Management on 01733 898589 and they will confirm it. Please do not guess.
- 3Visitors park on the street, unless arranged.There are no visitor bays in the basement. A visitor may use their host's own bay if the host registers the visitor's vehicle in advance; whether that is agreed depends on the circumstances and the length of stay.
- 4Do not lend your bay.No other vehicle may use your bay without prior written authorisation — that includes another resident, a contractor, a friend or a family member. An email to directors@wqmc.org is enough. Directors may also allocate a vacant bay at their discretion.
- 5Stay out of other bays.Including bays held by MHA, and any bay that appears to be unused. An empty bay is not a free bay unless a director has allocated it to you.
If you let your apartment
You remain responsible under your lease for your tenants and their visitors. Please pass this page on to them, and to your letting agent if you use one, and register the vehicle that will be using your bay. Correspondence about parking will continue to go to you as leaseholder, not to your tenant.
Vehicle register
Register the vehicle that uses your bay.
The board is building a record of which vehicle belongs in which bay. It means a car in the wrong place can be identified quickly, and a resident's own car is never mistaken for a stranger's. One entry per vehicle — if two cars share the bay, submit the form twice. Already registered? Update your record to change a vehicle or tell the board about temporary use of your bay. For example, two tenants working a day shift and a night shift may share one bay, provided both vehicles are registered. Up to three vehicles may be registered for each bay, and only registered vehicles should enter the basement.
What happens to your entry
The form writes one row to a private register held by the board. Nothing appears on this website.
- Step 1
- Your entry is matched to the bay recorded for your apartment.
- Step 2
- A confirmation email is sent to the address the board holds for that apartment, setting out the bay number and the vehicle you have registered.
- Step 3
- If the bay shown is wrong, you reply and the board checks it against the lease plan before changing anything.
- Step 4
- If no email address is held for your apartment, the board verifies your entry by hand rather than disclosing a bay number.
Registering is not a permit — yet
No permit scheme is in force at Welland Quarter today, and this form does not create one. It builds the record that any scheme would need, and it lets the board see the scale of the problem accurately rather than by anecdote.
If the board does introduce permits, it will be put to leaseholders first, with the cost and the rules set out in writing.
The basement
Which bay is which.
The shaded bays are the ones WQMC has control of. Your own bay is identified in your lease and in the plan attached to it — that document, not this page, is the authority on which bay is allocated to your apartment.
Tap the plan to open it full size, or download it as a PDF to print. Drawing not to scale and shown for orientation only.
Questions
The things residents ask.
Someone is in my bay. What do I do?
Report it to Letters Block Management on 01733 898589 with the date, time, bay number and the vehicle's make, colour and registration. A photograph helps. Please do not confront other residents or leave notes on windscreens — it escalates matters and makes them harder to resolve.
My visitor is only staying an hour.
If the visitor's vehicle has been registered in advance against your apartment, they may use your own bay. Otherwise they park on the street. Registrations are limited to three vehicles per bay, so please register only regular visitors.
Can I let a friend use my bay while I am away?
Only while you are away on holiday, and only with prior written authorisation from the board. Their vehicle must be registered first, and you will need to leave a key for that car in the key safe in the estate office so it can be moved if necessary. An unrecognised car in the basement is exactly the problem this page exists to solve.
I am a tenant. Does this apply to me?
Yes. Your landlord is answerable to the management company for how the bay is used, so anything that goes wrong lands on them. Please register your vehicle and keep to the rules.
Contractors, deliveries and removals.
The company's own contractors — the pump engineer, electricians, fire stopping, Colt and cleaners — may bring vehicles into the basement at the directors' discretion, and the board will make sure a space is available. Delivery drivers and couriers may drop at the lift lobby for a short time, provided they do not block the exit. Removal vans should use the outside rear entrance wherever possible.
Carers, nurses and medical visits.
Let the board know in advance and the visit can be arranged, for example in your own bay if you do not have a car there. Otherwise, please park outside.
A motorbike or second vehicle.
A motorbike alongside a car, or a second vehicle, is fine provided both fit within your own bay and both are registered.
Is the board going to start issuing fines?
Not today, and not without telling leaseholders first. Formal enforcement is being looked at because the current situation is not sustainable. The board would rather the problem stopped on its own.
My bay is recorded incorrectly.
Register anyway, then reply to the confirmation email. The board will check your lease plan before altering the record. Please do not start using a different bay in the meantime.
Your information
How the register is handled.
Welland Quarter Management Company Ltd is the data controller for the vehicle register. The information you submit — your name, apartment, telephone number, email address and vehicle details — is held so that the board can tell which vehicles belong in the basement, contact you if your vehicle has to be moved, and administer parking at the development. The board relies on its legitimate interests in managing the common parts and on the performance of obligations under the leases.
The register is visible only to the directors and to Letters Block Management as managing agent. It is not published on this website, it is not sold or shared for marketing, and it is not passed to any third party except where the board is obliged to do so by law, or where a specific vehicle is the subject of enforcement action or an insurance or safety incident. Entries are kept while the apartment is registered and removed once the board is told the vehicle or the occupier has changed.
You can ask to see, correct or delete what is held about you by writing to directors@wqmc.org. If you are unhappy with how your information has been handled, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
This page is information for residents. It does not vary the terms of any lease, and where this page and your lease differ, the lease prevails.