Imminent closure of Dickens Street car park threatens access to Afro Caribbean Millennium Club

The proposed ‘imminent closure’ of the Dickens Street Car Park could threaten access for members of the Afro Caribbean Millennium Club to their own car park.

The closure announcement, which was made by the Cabinet of Peterborough City Council at their meeting (11 July), is part of the ‘Peterborough Parking Strategy’ to save money.

The poorly used Dickens Street Car Park, where maintenance far outstrips the revenue it receives, will see users having to move to the nearby and much more frequented Wellington Street site in future.

While a time limit on the ‘imminent closure’ has yet to be set for the Dickens Street Car Park, Lewis Banks, Transport and Environment Manager at the council, said: “No date has been agreed but it will be in the short term.”

That creates a problem for the members of the Afro Caribbean Millennium Club who cannot access their own 32-space car park without first traversing across the Dickens Street car park.

While Peterborough City Council has said it will speak to the group, the club says news of it’s closure has left them surprised.

‘Look into our options’

Club secretary, Cliff Walker explained: “While we have our own car park, we simply will not be able to get to it unless the council grants us some right of way over whatever they plan to do with the Dickens Street site.

“It has been council policy for some time now to turn over the running of facilities such as ours to the members themselves, and just before the pandemic we believed that our solicitors and the council had reached just such an agreement.

“Subsequently, COVID put that matter on hold and while I was aware of plans to sell off the Dickens Street site by the council, I had no idea they were so immediate – we shall now have to contact the council as a matter of some urgency to look into our options.”

A spokesperson for the council said: "We will be speaking to the Afro Caribbean Millennium Club to discuss this further to ensure that they still have access into their car park.

"We will be doing this ahead of closing the car park."

The Dickens Street car park has 75 spaces and while it is close to the city centre and historic sites, it is poorly used and has been costing the council considerable sums in maintenance over the past two years.

Wellington Street car park, which has 635 spaces, is closer still to the city centre and its main attractions, and so is far more cost effective for the council to run.