Closed multi-storey car park to partially reopen as council agrees £220k repair plan

A Gloucester city centre multi-storey car park could reopen before the summer as council chiefs agree to a £220,000 repair plan.

Longsmith Street car park has been closed since September last year due to safety concerns.

The site has been earmarked for redevelopment as part of the new ambitious regeneration plan of The Fleece Hotel in Westgate Street.

However, the car park’s closure has cost the taxpayer tens of thousands in lost revenue and security costs.

And Gloucester City Council finance chiefs say it makes business sense to repair and reopen part of the site with a reconfigured layout.

Deputy leader and performance and resources cabinet member Hannah Norman (C, Quedgeley Fieldcourt) says the intention is for the site to reopen in around nine weeks time.

“Our intention is to start some repair work on Longsmith Street next week,” she said.

“The provisional date is for work to start on Tuesday, March 19.

“The programme of works will take nine weeks and we are looking for some of the spaces to be available in time for the summer.

“That’s subject to any issues happening during the works but at the moment it’s estimated to be nine weeks.

“We’ve looked at business planning and Longsmith Street and determined that it is good value for money to repair the first five levels of the car park.

“It will not be the entirety of the site.”

The reconfiguration of the site will see around 135 spaces of the 300 spaces become available again.

The parent and child spaces will be lost but the council will rearrange the site so that those floors have disabled spaces and normal spaces, she said.

“The upper floors will be securely blocked off both from a vehicle and pedestrian access for safety and to prevent anti-social behaviour.

“The phasing of works means if a new administration want to repair the entirety of the car park they will be able to moving forward.

“We felt it was prudent to do this initial investment in light of what is going to potentially happen at the Fleece.

Cllr Norman said the repair budget is £220,000 and explained in the last quarterly financial report the coucnil was around £130,000 down on car parking.

“The vast majority of that was attributed to Longsmith Street,” she said.

Cllr Norman said even though only around 135 spaces of the 300 at Longsmith Street will be opened after the repairs, the city will still have a net gain in car park places by the end of.

This is because the new car park at The Forum which will bring 400 spaces forward is expected to open by the end of 2024.

Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk