The car parks available for residents are: Shakespeare and Defoe, Ben Jonson, Bunyan, Speed 01 and 02, Willoughby 01 and 03, Andrewes, and Thomas More car parks.
Renting
Car bays are available to rent, although you may not necessarily be able to get one right underneath your block. You can get the current rates from the Barbican Estate Office. There are two ways of renting: a fixed three months with the option to renew for a further fixed period; or an indefinite licence which carries on till you give three months’ written notice to terminate it.
You can only use the space allocated to you. But the Corporation reserves the right to move you to another space, even in another car park (although that doesn’t often happen in practice). You will receive a windscreen sticker so the staff can identify people parking without permission. The Estate Office can provide replacement stickers.
You can also arrange to park a motorbike in the car parks for an annual fee.
Buying
If you are a flat owner, you can buy a long lease of a car bay. You have to pay a purchase price and an annual service charge . For details of what’s on offer, contact the Barbican Estate Office. You can only use your space for your private use (and your family’s) as residents of your flat.)
Selling
If you have bought your car space, you can sell it with your flat. Alternatively you can sell it back to the Corporation at a discounted price.
This is how it is calculated. Assume you bought it for £7,500. If you bought a space with 90 years left to run, you will divide the years by 100 to give a percentage, which is .9%. You sell ten years later. To arrive at the discount, you multiply the £7,500 purchase price by 10 (the years of use) and multiply it by .9%, to arrive at a discount of £675. The price the Corporation will pay is £6,825 (£7,500 – £675). This is just an example to show how the calculation works – the actual figures are out of date so you need to ask the Estate Office for the current figures.
If you rent your space, you can’t sell it with your flat. You have to surrender it to the Corporation when you move.
Temporary parking
You can usually arrange temporary parking for guests, visitors, builders etc. The Estate charge a daily amount which will appear on your next service charge bill.
Bicycles and motorbikes
There are facilities for storing your bicycle. You can rent an individual bicycle locker, but there is already a waiting list. There are communal bicycle cages in some car parks. There are traditional bike stands as well as strips of racks, some holding several bikes at a time. In view of demand, portable bicycle stores have also been installed in various locations in Barbican car parks.
You should register your bicycle with the Barbican Estate Office otherwise it may be removed (to cut down on abandoned bikes rusting on chains forever).
You can also arrange with the Barbican Estate Office to keep your motorbike in one of the car parks.