Nosey Parkers Cry 'Foul' To NCP

30 percent of customers say bad smells keep them away

By George B / Tuesday, 31 March 2009 / Loading comments

Can this one smell like petrol, please?

A heady whiff of freshly-baked bread or roses may soon replace 'eau d'urine', the pungent scent that currently characterises many car park stairwells and lifts.

Car park company NCP surveyed 2000 people and found that foul odours would stop up to a third of respondents from returning to one of their parks. Around 60 per cent of those surveyed said that stairwells were often the worst affected areas, frequently smelling of vomit and urine.

NCP are now looking into installing a system to help pump out the bad smells and replace them with more fragrant aromas like flowers, baked bread and freshly cut grass.

While anything would be better than the bad smells we can all associate with urban car parks (Ed, did they really need a survey?), we tend to agree with those respondents who said the smell of petrol would be a more inviting odour.

Whether the new system will be an excuse for NCP to raise parking charges in future, we can't say yet. Now that would be sure to raise a stink...