Van freed after two years trapped in car park

A family business has regained its van after it was trapped in a central London car park for nearly two and a half years.

Steve Davies and Mark Lucas collected the vehicle from Rathbone Square's mechanical stacking car park on Thursday afternoon.

Mr Davies said he was glad to finally have the van back but HCS Furniture's "coffers are now fairly low" after spending close to £50,000 on renting, then buying, a new van.

Rathbone Square's management, CRBE, declined to comment - but the BBC has seen an email that confirmed other trapped vehicles will be released over the next month.

One resident in the Rathbone Square development told BBC London up to 40 vehicles were trapped in the stack - but CBRE did not respond when asked to confirm.

A stacked car park is a system in which cars are parked on top of each other using mechanical platforms and lifts to make the most of the available space.

The email, which set out the "step-by-step guide to vehicle retrieval" said the car stacker will remain closed to allow owners to retrieve their vehicles.

Mr Davies said the resolution had been a "long time coming" - after his van became trapped in December 2022.

Mr Davies and Mr Lucas had been concerned the battery of their electric van would not work, but Mr Lucas said: "It fired up and it had enough juice to drive itself out of the bay - which we're very pleased about as it could've been quite awkward otherwise."

Mr Davies said the van will be taken for servicing and assessment of any damage.

Additional cost of renting the low-loader lorry and servicing the van will need to be assessed before his business can put in a final claim, Mr Davies said.

"I've taken a few knocks in the 40 years I've had the business but this has been the biggest and the coffers are fairly low at the moment," he added.

Lauren Kennedy, a mechanic based in Finchley, said the owners could find their vehicles in varying conditions.

"They're definitely going to have flat batteries, that's for sure. But they're also going to possibly have flat tyres, perished tyres, seized brakes," she said.

Derek Millard-Smith, a solicitor specialising in parking law, said as well as any direct monetary costs incurred, owners may be able to claim for the inconvenience caused and "loss of enjoyment" of their vehicles.

"It's quantifying that time, which is the nature of any civil claim that you'd have to set out what you think your losses were," he said.

It remains unclear which organisation will be held liable for any possible compensation pay outs.

Double Parking Systems, which did not install, but does maintain, the automated system at Rathbone Square, confirmed to the BBC the parking system had been operational since 15 March.

Mr Davies said the whole experience had been "dreadful", in particular the poor communication they have had from CBRE.

"If they'd just communicated better and told us what was really happening, it wouldn't have been so traumatic," he said.

Despite the experience, Mr Davies said if the insurance claim can be processed in a quicker fashion "everything will come up roses".

Mr Lucas added: "I'm relieved that we've actually got it out of the stacking system and onto a low loader.

"We believe there's an end insight to this whole saga."

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