Charges began on 9 September: 30 minutes free, then £1 an hour, £3 up to three hours. Blue Badge holders pay too; a free council car park is five minutes away.
Parking at South Hill Park is no longer free. Charges started on Wednesday 9 September in the arts centre’s car park, which has about 200 spaces. The first 30 minutes cost nothing. After that, up to an hour costs £1 and up to three hours costs £3.
The charges apply to every vehicle, every day of the week, including bank holidays. (South Hill Park, how to find us)
The tariff
| Stay | Charge |
|---|---|
| First 30 minutes | Free |
| Up to 1 hour | £1 |
| Up to 3 hours | £3 |
| Up to 10 hours | £5 |
| Up to 24 hours | £15 |
There is no two-hour rate. A stay of 61 minutes costs the same as one of three hours. (South Hill Park Trust, paid parking notice)
How you pay
There are three ways to pay:
- the RingGo app, which adds a 25p convenience fee to each transaction
- two machines towards the front entrance of the centre
- one machine in the car park
The machines take cards only. You enter your registration number and can pay when you arrive or before you leave. (South Hill Park, how to find us)
The car park is run by Park Nova, a private operator, using number plate recognition cameras. Complaints and appeals about a Parking Charge Notice go to Park Nova, not to the arts centre. The trust says its own staff are unable to help. (South Hill Park Trust, paid parking notice)
Short visits stay free. Each visit under 30 minutes costs nothing, even if you come back later the same day. The trust says this is so parents dropping off or collecting a child are not charged.
Blue Badge holders pay too
Blue Badge holders pay the published tariff. The accessible bays remain.
Park Nova handles requests for reasonable adjustments to payment or enforcement, on 01932 918098. The trust notes that you do not need a Blue Badge to be disabled or to ask for one. (South Hill Park Trust, paid parking notice)
That matches the council’s own rule in its paying town centre car parks, which give Blue Badge holders no discount either. Our parking in Bracknell guide has the detail.
Why the trust is charging
South Hill Park is run by South Hill Park Trust, an independent charity. In its notice, the trust says public funding for the centre has fallen for more than a decade. Over the same period, it says, the cost of running its Grade II listed buildings, theatres, studios and public spaces has kept rising.
Trustees concluded that paid parking was “necessary to help safeguard the future of the arts centre”. The trust says the charges will also:
- protect spaces for people attending and using South Hill Park
- discourage inappropriate use of the car park
- reduce antisocial behaviour
- raise income for the centre’s operation and upkeep
It has not published how much it expects the car park to raise.
Walkers and park users pay as well
The grounds are a public park, not just the arts centre’s garden. The land south of Ringmead is owned and managed by Bracknell Forest Council, and the northern part by Bracknell Town Council, in partnership with the arts centre. (Bracknell Forest Council, South Hill Park)
The council’s page for the park now says parking there is “chargeable after the first 30 minutes”. So anyone driving in to walk the four waymarked trails or to fish the two ponds pays the same tariff after half an hour.
The free car park five minutes away
Leppington car park, off Birch Hill Road at the back of the mansion grounds, is a council car park. It is free, has no waiting limit and holds:
- 89 general spaces
- 3 Blue Badge spaces
- 8 EV spaces
- 4 parent and child spaces
(Bracknell Forest Council, Leppington car park)
South Hill Park itself points drivers there as overflow parking. It says the path across the grounds is well lit and takes no more than five minutes.
The trust asks people not to use the Birch Hill shops car park instead. That one is also free but has a two-hour maximum stay. (Bracknell Forest Council, Birch Hill Shopping Centre car park) Both car parks share the postcode RG12 7WW, so a sat nav will not tell them apart. The council gives Leppington’s what3words as ///puppy.client.jump.
What it means for you
- A class or a show: budget £3 for anything from an hour up to three, and count the time it takes to arrive, collect tickets and leave. The trust suggests allowing for intervals, the café and late finishes.
- The pantomime: Aladdin opens at the Wilde Theatre on 27 November. Check the running time before you pick a tariff, or park at Leppington. Our Christmas shows guide has the dates.
- Dropping off a child: stays under 30 minutes are free, each time.
- A long walk in the park: Leppington is free with no time limit.
- Paying by app: the 25p fee is per transaction, so extending a stay in RingGo costs another 25p on top.
- Check the signs each visit. The trust says the terms can change and the signs carry the full conditions.
South Hill Park is at Ringmead, Bracknell RG12 7PA. For what else is on there and across the borough, see things to do in Bracknell.
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