No liability is accepted for damage to private vehicles or bicycles brought onto College premises, however it might be caused.  Any vehicle left on College property is left at the owner’s risk.  

Bicycles

Official Governing Body Fellows are permitted to cycle in College and may bring their bicycles into the Quadrangle and other College areas.

Otherwise, cycling is not permitted anywhere in College and no bicycle may be brought into the Quadrangle, Howard Court, or Kenny Court. An exception to this is that postgraduates resident in the Singer Building may wheel their bicycles through the Quadrangle en route to or from their accommodation. No bicycles should be brought across the front of the Library.

Staff, students and others arriving by bicycle should dismount as soon as possible once inside the College gates and in any case before they pass the Porters' Lodge.

All bicycles left unattended should be locked in a College bike shed. Bicycles left elsewhere in College may be removed by the Porters.

In accordance with the Residential Agreement, no bicycles may be stored in staircases or College houses.

All student bicycles must be marked with a unique personal number which will be allocated by the Porters. This is not only to satisfy University Regulations (Proctors may issue warnings or on-the-spot fines for failure to comply) but also to maximise the chance of the bike’s return should it be stolen.

Unregistered bikes are not covered by college insurance in the event of theft. Information as to accommodation for bicycles in the College should be obtained from the Head Porter. The College insurance provides cover of a maximum of £200 (less any policy excess) for your bicycle. Please refer to the insurance webpage for more details.                  

 

Motor vehicles

Owing to traffic problems in Cambridge, the University and Colleges are under an obligation to the local authorities to restrict the use of motor vehicles by students. It is an offence against University rules for a student to keep, hire or drive a car or motorcycle within ten miles of Cambridge while in residence in Term or in the Long Vacation without permission. The University Motor Proctor may impose a fine for breaches of this rule. *

Permission must be applied for via online Student Forms (you will need to log in with your Downing credentials) and is only granted in exceptional circumstances. Your Tutor will need to approve your request, and permission can only be granted when an authorised parking space is available.

The same parking application must be completed when permission is sought to park a motor vehicle in College. Student parking is very limited in the College and only special cases are granted permission. A parking badge is required if a vehicle is to be parked in College, for which there is a charge for the academic year (see the Fees and Charges page). Students with a registered disability are not required to pay a fee.

Rules and regulations for student car parking 

  • Students will need to apply for a University Motor Licence if they wish to keep, hire or drive a car in Cambridge (*see note above)
  • A car parking application must be completed and sanctioned by the Senior Tutor when seeking permission to park a motor vehicle in College
  • Student car parking is very limited and only special cases are granted permission, as capacity allows (determined by the Senior Bursar)
  • Student parking spaces are ordinarily located in front of the houses on Lensfield Road, not on the Domus; a space at Lensfield Road does not grant access to the Domus itself
  • Students are not allowed to park or drive their cars on the Domus without prior permission of the Senior Tutor, or in exceptional cases at the Porter’s discretion (e.g. unloading, medical reasons etc.)
  • There is a rising bollard for access to the Domus – take extreme care
  • The speed limit on the Domus of 5mph must be observed at all times
  • No vehicles are allowed in Main Court, Kenny Court or First Court
  • If space allows, parents/carers of junior members are allowed to park in College when visiting, and to do so they will need to report to the Porters’ Lodge. In addition, there are a limited number of spaces, which can be pre-booked through the Porters’ Lodge, for all other visitors.

Downing College student car parking process (for students living on-site)

  1. Complete the online parking application via the Downing Student Forms portal. This year the deadline for applications is 12 noon on Monday 19 September 2022.  
  2. Your Tutor and the Senior Tutor will review your application online. If approved, it will then be passed to the College office to see if we have a space to allocate to you.
  3. If your application is successful, the college Office will provisionally allocate a parking space and communicate this decision to you by email.
  4. Once you have confirmation of a space, please apply online for a Motor Proctor's licence (link below). You will need your form signed by your Tutor, or the Tutorial Office if a Tutor has not yet been assigned to you.
  5. Once received, send your Motor Proctor's licence back to the College Office to confirm your parking space.

Additional points to note:

  • There are a limited number of car parking spaces available and the College normally receives more requests than we haves spaces. This means that regrettably, there will always be some applications that we cannot accommodate.
  • Car parking permits will run from 1 October to 30 September the following year.
  • If you will be leaving college before September, please let the college know so that they will be able to give your place to an incoming student after you have departed. If you will no longer live on site and/or your course has been completed and you no longer require your car to travel to your placements, your parking entitlements will cease.
  • If you are a new incoming postgraduate student to arrive in College before October and intend to apply for an annual parking permit please get in touch with the college office who may be able to grant you temporary parking for the duration of September. This is subject to availability. The charge for temporary parking for any part of the month of September is £24.50.
  • The annual charge for parking is £98.25. Charges for parking will be added automatically to your College bill.
  • Your parking permit must be displayed as per the instructions that accompany it. Porters will be doing checks to make sure those parking are permitted to do so.

Please contact the College office (college-office@dow.cam.ac.uk) with any enquiries.