Southgate Car Park — Local services in Bath

Southgate is essentially the main carpark for Bath city centre as it is built underneath the Southgate shopping area. There are other council run carparks but only Charlotte street (long stay) is comparable for size/price.

A brief overview of Southgate carpark is: busy, quite expensive but very convenient for shopping and visiting Bath.

There are electric car charging points (very few). A valet bay that takes up 10+ spaces on the first level. Half of the bottom level is for the train station. Small area in the corners of each floor for motorcycles.

It is conveniently located especially for tourists or visitors but beware it is usually busy, especially at peak times with Bath being a hotspot for tourism and students.

The bus depot is opposite, there is a bus stop just before the carpark entrance, the traffic can be a nightmare getting in and out. Pedestrians crossing over the carpark entrance/exit do not have time for you trying to park and will walk out in front of cars turning, not paying attention, faces in phones and headphones on so best to be aware so you don't take down a group of tourists.

On some occasions they will close the carpark at peak times and the queues to get out can be ridiculous due to the volume of traffic, timed lights, buses, taxis etc.

The carpark is underground and if you enter but can't find a space (which does happen) you might end up stuck driving around and looking or stuck in traffic to get back out. This can sometimes mean you have difficulty leaving as it's mostly unmanned with an automated camera reg plate checker. These operate on a timer the barriers won't raise if youre longer than 10-15 mins.

Parking costs in the city are emissions based in council car parks and it is expensive no matter where you choose to park.

While not as convenient (especially if you are shopping) I would suggest using the park and ride (£3.50 return ticket, regular buses and 10-15 mins into the centre from Odd Down) to save you being stressed out before you...

Easy enough to find and get into, with ANPR cameras logging your registration and automatically opening the gate. Motorcyclists get their own lane on the far left; no speed bump and a machine for tickets and barrier control.

The overhead signs threw me off at first; I managed to drive straight towards the exit as soon as I entered -- oops. They also claimed there were spaces available in certain rows when there weren’t, so I spent a few minutes looping around before finally finding a bay near the -2B lifts. At least there were pay machines both on that level and at ground level, which was handy.

The lift area was spotless and well lit, and the whole car park felt safe; no sense of anything sketchy going on. Pedestrian walkways and crossings are clearly marked, which is a nice touch.

I stayed for 1 day and 18 hours (so yes, you can go beyond 24 hours) and it came to £36. Personally, I find that reasonable, though I’m used to areas where 5 hours costs £45. Locals in Bath may well consider it steep.

Overall: a good, secure car park with just a couple of small...

This Multi-storey car park does not work on busy days, and the city signs should say its FULL much sooner. At near capacity cars are queuing to get to a handful of spaces on the basement floor. Cars also queue to get out which is hampered by exiting on a busy street with pedestrians restricting access. . The outgoing cars then block the incoming cars, its really not a smart car park at all, and we spend 20minutes getting in and 20minutes getting out. Signage to the up and down ramps is non-existent. The payment machines are suitable for wheelchair users, but for 95% of us, you will have to stoop to make payment. I recommend the nearby Avon street car park in...