Rethinking town centre land: Could car parks house the future?

Much has been said about how we could achieve a carless society, living around well-connected centres that facilitate active travel and everyday needs within walking distance. While urban centres are making great strides in achieving this reality, seeing a clear shift towards walking and cycling, rural and many suburban communities still rely heavily on private cars to access essential services, commute and live day to day. Without a radical overhaul of public transport infrastructure and safe cycle networks, this reliance is not likely to change any time soon.

With few exceptions, rural and suburban public transport networks are simply not in a position to meaningfully reduce dependence on the car. This is not just an issue of carbon footprint, (yes, EVs combat problems of air pollution, but they still take up precious space….) but also a spatial one. In many towns, car parks dominate at the expense of high-quality public realm, severing pedestrian connections and consuming a disproportionate amount of land.

I believe there is a real opportunity to rethink and reprioritise our centre-of-town car parks as a viable solution to deliver much-needed housing and community-driven spaces. This doesn’t mean eliminating parking provision altogether but rather reprioritising these sites to reintroduce the finer urban grain typical of British towns – condensing parking provision and integrating mixed-use development that supports both residential and community needs. Afterall, if we are to build 1.5 million new homes over the next decade, we must consider how to meet this need while balancing housing demand with community wellbeing.

Town centre car parks are often in local authority ownership, offering an opportunity for councils to define strategies for these spaces, to at least have a long-term spatial vision, even if not the means,  to deliver the infrastructure, places and homes needed locally. Many of these car parks were introduced without much regard for historic street patterns or the surrounding context. Reimagined, they could help repair fragmented urban fabrics and lost pedestrian routes—potentially acting as catalysts for wider regeneration. Ironically, these sites are often already well-served by public transport.

Of course, funding remains a significant barrier, and few local authorities have the cash or capacity to deliver such projects alone. Strong leadership, strategic partnerships, and a clear vision are essential. But these challenges are not insurmountable.