I used Swindon's new town centre app only car park: How it went

There is a large expanse of tarmac near the Sheppard Street junction which used to be reserved solely for the vehicles of Zurich staff, with barriers barring the way to anyone else (except for a few hours on weekends).

Since the insurance giant now has a shiny new HQ near Fleming Way, the outdoor car park has been made available to all - as long as they can manoeuvre around the sharp 2.4-metre wide left turn and fit under the rusting 2.1 metre-high metal arch.

I needed to visit the area to cover a story but my usual go-to spot, at a handy and fairly new-ish short and long-stay public car park near the Great Western Hotel, was full.

After looping back around to Emlyn Square, I noticed the large 'Car park NOW OPEN 7 days a week' sign and decided now was as good a time as any to give it a try.

The entrance to the car park (Image: Newsquest)

I drove under the entranceway, past another sign saying 'Car park OPEN to the public, and felt silly for not noticing this change of access during my many other trips to the town centre, as the owners were certainly not being subtle about it.

It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with CCTV monitoring the license plates of paying drivers, but is not suitable for lorries or buses. There are a few dozen parking spaces and some electric car charging points.

The signage suggests to PayByPhone - but here's where the first seeds of confusion were sown.

PayByPhone is both a payment method and the name of an app used to pay at car parks owned by Swindon Borough Council. The Sheppard Street car park is PayByPhone but does not use the PayByPhone app. Get it?

I didn't at first and felt flummoxed when I put the car park number (3056) into the app only to be met with an error message.

As it turns out, you pay using a different app called Apcoa Connect. You scan a QR code from the signage, download the app from a spotty 4G signal, then create an account and add your credit card.

Another motorist approached me asking for help but I explained that I had never used this car park before and was as in the dark as he was.

His smartphone appeared to be older than mine and struggled to load the QR code's link, but he was worried he would be fined if he now tried to move his car elsewhere.

When I returned an hour later, he was still there looking at his phone and scratching his head having progressed to the registration page but no further. 

There is no phone number to call if you're having problems paying.

The payment machine is no longer in use. (Image: Newsquest)

Despite these teething problems, I would use the car park again, as it should be less of a faff now I have the app already installed.

But I would advise people to either download the Apcoa Connect beforehand or - if fiddling with a phone feels like more of a hassle than a convenience - go somewhere else instead, as using coins or card at an actual payment machine is not possible.