Parkway multi-storey to undergo essential maintenance

A programme of maintenance, costing around £1.4m and lasting 36 weeks, is to start at the Parkway multi-storey car park in Bury St Edmunds early next month.

Up to 200 spaces – a third of the car parking spaces in the multi-storey – may be out of use during the maintenance work which is due to start on September 5.

The council is reinvesting parking income to fund the works which includes repairs to the concrete structure as well as improvements including colour coding of parking levels and of the pedestrian walkways.

The repair work is required in order to keep the car park in use for the years ahead.

The multi-storey, built in the early 1990s, is currently used as both a long and short stay car park. During the works, West Suffolk Council will make the neighbouring short stay Parkway Surface car park available for both short and all day parking.

The 36-week maintenance programme includes within it a six-week break on the works. All spaces will be back in use during this break, from November 21 to December 31, to ensure there is capacity to meet extra demand on parking spaces in the run up to Christmas.

Peter Stevens, cabinet member for Operations at West Suffolk Counci,l said: “We recognise how important parking is and the role that it plays in supporting the town centre economy through the availability of both long stay and short stay spaces. We are reinvesting parking income to deliver this estimated £1.4m of essential works that will ensure the multi-storey car park can continue to be used by people coming to work in or visit Bury St Edmunds town centre, for many more years to come. While the repairs are essential, we will also use the opportunity this brings to make improvements that will benefit users of this car park.”

Residents and visitors are advised that the works will be noisy, particularly as concrete is removed to carry out structural repairs. While this is unavoidable, this will be restricted to daytime hours Monday to Friday. Measures will also be in place to control the dust generated.

Advanced warning signs will be going out in the coming weeks, while the council is formally advertising the Traffic Regulation Order to make Parkway Surface available to long as well as short stay users during the period of work on the multi-storey.