Private car parks are not governed by TSRGD the way public highways are, but that does not mean anything goes. Equality Act duties, planning conditions, fire access requirements and industry guidance combine into a de facto standard that a properly specified layout must meet.
Bay dimensions
The widely adopted minimum for a standard bay is 2.4 m × 4.8 m, and anything smaller invites door damage and complaints. Accessible (disabled) bays need more room, current guidance calls for 1.2 m safety zones either side, commonly delivered as a 3.6 m overall bay or hatched transfer zones between bays. Parent-and-child provision typically follows the same generous footprint.
Accessible provision
Guidance for off-street parking suggests around 6% of capacity as accessible bays at shopping and leisure destinations, with bays placed on the shortest level route to the entrance, clearly symbol-marked and signed. Getting this wrong is not just poor service, it is an Equality Act exposure.
EV charging bays
EV bays need clear symbol marking, colour-contrasted surrounds (green is now the established convention) and protection from ICE-ing through hatched buffers and signage. As charge point numbers grow under planning conditions, we are re-planning more car parks each year to integrate charging without losing circulation.
How we handle it
Every car park project starts with a measured survey and a CAD layout that states bay dimensions, accessible provision and turning circulation explicitly. You sign off the drawing before a single line is sprayed, so compliance is designed in, not argued about afterwards.
