As expected we have received additional questions and comments about the parking changes coming into play from Monday 1 August. We have collated these into a list of Frequently Asked Questions and the answers to these are outlined below.

---

I play sport at the Sports Village with a group of people on weekdays for 2-3 hours every time. The new system only allows free of charge for 2 hours for weekdays. What can I do as I also want to stay and shower after my activity?

The 2-hour free parking applies to all car park users parking between the hours of 07:00 and 19:00 weekdays. If you need to stay for longer than 2 hours between these parking enforcement hours, you will need to register your vehicle and pay the £2 daily parking charge.

 

For some time I have swum twice a week for 90 minutes. This two-hour free parking limit gives me a potential problem.

The 2-hour free parking should still provide you with enough time to arrive, swim for your planned 90-minute swimming session, shower and depart. We know time might be tighter than the current arrangements but hope this is still doable.

 

I don’t want to give my credit or debit card details to a third party where I don’t have to.

It is not compulsory to provide card details to HOZAH and all customers can make their own choice about whether to do so or not. We are advising people to do this in case they ever inadvertently stay longer than the free 2-hour parking as we believe it would be less of a problem to challenge a £2 charge than a higher fixed penalty notice.

 

More than one member of my family are members of the Sports Village and share the same car but visit at different times – how will this work for us?

The 2-hour free parking per car per day is available with no return within 3 hours. So if there is 3 hours or more between the car leaving the car park and returning to the car park in the same day you will not be charged the £2 charge for parking. If there is less than 3 hours between the car leaving the car park and returning to the car park in the same day you will be charged £2 for each day this occurs.

 

Can you confirm that I definitely don’t need to register my card details if I am certain I will never be staying more than 2 hours?

I can confirm that you do not need to register your card details if you are 100% certain that you will never stay at the Sports Village car park for more than 2 hours within the parking enforcement hours of 07:00-19:00 Monday to Friday.

 

Just reading and going through this email and the link that is attached.  Just to confirm am I meant to be putting in my card details and if so, can you confirm that money will not be taken out of my account automatically?

Yes we can confirm that if you register your card details with HOZAH you will definitely NOT be charged unless you park for longer than 2 hours within the enforcement hours of 07:00-19:00 weekdays.

 

The new 2 hour rule for parking will substantially impact this socialisation, as we will be unable to stay and chat with other members without incurring the £2.00 charge  I would be delighted if the two hour deadline could be extended to 3 or even 4 hours, and hope that you may consider this. 

We understand the request to increase the free 2-hour parking period to 3-hours or longer and will pass this feedback on to the University of Hertfordshire as part of any future review of the new parking scheme. But from 1 August the free parking period will definitely be 2 hours. The car park is used by many different user groups and not just Sports Village users and we have to have a consistent approach to parking for all car park users. We are very sorry for the impact this change will have on your time to socialise with others as part of your Sports Village visits.

 

I know of no other gym that charges for parking. I urge you to reconsider this decision and negotiate a better deal for your members. 

We understand that few other gyms charge for parking and in an ideal world we wouldn’t be charging either. We have already negotiated heavily with the University of Hertfordshire to get the 2-hour free parking concession so that users who stay for up to 2 hours can do so without paying a parking charge and this does benefit the vast majority of users, albeit we totally understand it doesn’t work for everyone. When looking at the overall value you derive from your membership we would urge you to look at the overall facility, service and location when deciding on the overall value we provide. We will of course pass on all member feedback on these changes to the University directly

 

I have been allowed 3 hours parking as part of my membership for the last 19 years; it may not be in the actual words of the contract, but most people would consider it a given.  Can they not give members the 3 hours as we currently have?

We understand the request to increase the free 2-hour parking period to 3-hours or longer and will pass this feedback on to the University of Hertfordshire as part of any future review of the new parking scheme. But from 1 August the free parking period will definitely be 2 hours. We are very sorry for the impact this change will have on your experience of the Sports Village. When looking at the overall value you derive from your membership we would urge you to look at the overall facility, service and location when deciding on the overall value we provide

 

I am a disabled driver and however much I want to deny it, things take longer, most organisations recognise this by giving disabled members longer, can you give me and the other disabled users longer? 

Blue Badge holders can register for a discounted £1 AUTOPAY ‘Blue badge’ discount on proof of your Blue Badge. This can either be uploaded via the HOZAH site or shown at the de Havilland Campus reception (our reception staff can direct you to this location). Once the blue badge is checked, the discount will be added to the registered vehicle(s) and if you stay longer than 2 hours you will be charged £1 rather than £2 for each day.   

 

Your mail does not explain how long between visits, I often attend in the morning and then later in the day for physio - will 2 x 2 hours on the same day be considered to be exceeding the limits? 

You can return to park for an additional 2-hour free period 3 hours after leaving the car park on your first visit of each day. So, for example, if you park from 9:00am – 11:00am you could then return anytime after 2:00pm and park for free for an additional 2-hour period.

 

The changes to 2-hours free parking will make it hard for me to attend back-to-back group exercise classes.

We understand the change to 2 hours free parking makes it harder for members to attend back-to-back classes. To help with this we have made some amendments to our class timetable for classes that take place between the hours of 07.00 and 19.00 Monday- Friday. Where possible, we have reduced the gap between some of our most popular classes to allow for enough time to attend these back-to-back within the 2 hour free parking limit. These changes will come into effect from Monday 1 August 2022.

 

If I have signed up to Hozah autopay at the University of Hertfordshire will this work when I visit other Hozah Autopay car parks in the UK?

Yes. If you have signed up to Hozah Autopay at the University of Hertfordshire this will be your default payment method if you visit other Hozah autopay car parks in the UK. So please remember to not pay by other means if you visit another Hozah Autopay car park as your parking charges will be automatically deducted for the correct time period by Hozah.