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Not only are there health and safety issues to be considered here, but also other factors such as any requirements for licensing the car park and any impact on the management of the building.

For some time there has been confusion over the requirement for car parks to have petroleum licences. Until recently, in London licences were required where there were more than 12 parking spaces, however this was not the case nationally.

The London Fire Brigade had over the years insisted that car parks of that capacity fall under the remit of the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 and therefore need licensing. However, the Safety Policy directorate of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed that operators of such car parks do not need a petroleum licence.

You must consider the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 (as amended), which require persons in control of premises to undertake and document a fire risk assessment.

That leads us on to the requirement for a general health and safety risk assessment. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, you have undertaken and documented a risk assessment for the building as a whole. That risk assessment now needs to be revised, as there is a change in circumstance. It will now need to cover the hazards of having and using the car park, which could include:

1 slips, trips and falls of pedestrians due to uneven surfaces and poor lighting
2 vehicle collisions due to poor layout and design and lack of speed restrictions
3 additional security risks due to potential for unauthorised vehicle entry
4 pedestrian impact with vehicles due to poor layout and design
5 potential for fire exit routes from the building to be obstructed by vehicles
6 vandalism to vehicles
7 arson potential
8 manual handling, cuts, abrasion injuries and COSHH hazards associated with the grounds maintenance of the landscaping put in.

Having considered the hazards, you must then consider who may be affected by them — employees, tenants, visitors, contractors, and members of the public (invited and uninvited)?

The possible control measures you should consider could include:

•  outline inspections to ensure that there are no trip hazards, any potholes are filled and repaired, that no unauthorised vehicles are using the car park and that lighting levels are sufficient. Grit bins should be provided for icy conditions
  
•  layout which takes vehicle traffic in one direction, with adequate signage indicating one way traffic and speed limit of 5mph
  
• security access barrier installed with authorised persons issued with a pass
  
•  Fire Exit Keep Clear Signs fixed to any exit routes from the building, together with bollards to prevent vehicles parking too close to the doors
  
•  CCTV and security patrols to control the potential for vandalism and arson
  
• control measures for the grounds maintenance — needs a separate risk assessment.

Having reviewed the risk assessment, this should trigger a review of your health and safety policy.

You need to establish whose responsibility the car park is and how it is to be managed. How frequently are the routine inspections going to be, what records are you going to keep, how frequently does the access barrier need to be maintained, who will be allowed access, when will we check the exterior lighting and so on?

Consider the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Do you need spaces for disabled drivers? Where should they be and how wide? How should they be signposted? How about the disabled person's access to the building?

It is fair to say, as with any change to a building, that one of the most important aspects is to plan and prepare for the change.