Peterborough City Council waiting on second opinion before deciding car park’s future

Peterborough City Council are waiting on a second opinion about the safety of a car park set to be closed this evening before deciding its fate.
The Northminster multi-storeyThe Northminster multi-storey
The Northminster multi-storey

Northminster multi storey car park will close from midnight tonight after a report revealed it had reached the end of its life.

The report revealed vibrations from cars using the car park could cause lumps of concrete to fall from the structure.

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However, leader of the council, cllr John Holdich, said they were waiting on a second report before deciding the future of the car park.

Last year Rhubarb Bridge on Bourges Boulevard was set to be demolished after a report said it was unsafe - before later being saved after protesters won a campaign to keep footbridge open. The council originally claimed it would cost £30 million to replace the bridge - but a £5.5 million to repair it was later approved.

Cllr Holdich said: “I owe it to myself and to the people of Peterborough to get the second opinion. I probably don’t need to do i, as I know what it will say.

“All our structures are inspected regularly, and the report on the car park shows it is not in a good state. When we saw the report, we had to close it.

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“We will make a call on what to do with it when we have the second opinion. It may be that knocking it down could be cheaper than repairing it.”

Over the past couple of days, council staff have been speaking to businesses and season ticket holders that use the car park to keep them informed.

The car park has 720 spaces - although there are another 3,165 council run parking spaces - which does not include the Queensgate car park.

Cllr Holdich said: “We think there are enough spaces for everyone. Since Bayard Place staff moved out, the car park is not used as regularly as it was.

“It will give us the chance to look at that area of the city with a blank sheet of paper.”