The end of city centre Multistorey Carparks

[Jim606]

I've recently noticed several stories about Multistorey Carparks being demolished and wondered if this is becoming a trend? The carparks I am referring to are 'general-use' ones, rather than ones associated with railway stations, P&R or attached to specific shopping centres. Demolition could be for a range of structural, esthetic or other reasons to do with changing patterns of use etc. One example is in Bradford where the former Hall Ings carpark is going to make way for a new station plaza and entranceway https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-63491008 However, there seems to be many other examples...

[Truvelo]

The one in my town centre is redundant and there are plans to demolish it. Although built of brick rather than concrete it suffers from stains running down the walls and is generally an eyesore. Even if it is torn down and replaced what will the replacement be? Both indoor shopping centres are full of empty units so retail isn't going to be the new use. The days when shoppers park their vehicles in these car parks and spend several hours walking round the shops are long gone. Everyone now wants to park outside the store they are visiting, purchase the items and be out again straight away.

[geofftswin]

We gained a nice shiny new one four years ago when the revamped shopping centre opened. It always seems to be reasonably busy.

On the flip side, one of the older car parks was closed at the end of October due to being no longer safe - apparently the centre spaces had been blocked off for a while prior to the total closure.

The Town centre multistory I park in for work is normally pretty busy as well, so I'm not convinced they're going to disappear any time soon.

[traffic-light-man]

The biggest (I think) multistorey in St Helens was recently demolished, leaving only a ground-level car park for now. There's still a few others in operation elsewhere in the town at the moment, but I wonder if their days are numbered too as they're very much stuck in the past.

Liverpool City Council on the other hand has opened three new ones in recent years that I can think of. One is on Victoria St which replaced a previous council operated ground level car park, there's one near the ACC's Exhibition Centre (a replacement for the original one demolished after the fire, but not in the same location and much bigger), and a completely new one in the 'Knowledge Quarter' which is a tall one at 14 storeys high.

[Nicola_Jayne]

There is also the reality that stuff built in the 60s and early 1970s is now 50 years old, and as we keep seeing there are problems which were either not anticipated, minimised or ignored as the feeling was that the structure would be replaced before it became life expired.

Some of the 1960s and 1970s builds are unappealing and they have problems which makes peopel feel unsafe ( for those who are familiar with Lincoln compared the stairwells in the Broadgate MSCP with the still quite New 'Central' MSCP by the bus station ... central's being large airy atrium style stairwells where Broadgate's are space efficient with close switchbacks on the flights and no significant space and air down the centre of the stair well which makes them feel hidden ... add in Broadgate's stairwells bare walls and odour of human urine ...

[RichardA35]

These structures are commercial ventures owned and operated by hard nosed developers and property companies. If they don't pay their way they get demolished, simple really!

[Nicola_Jayne]

These structures are commercial ventures owned and operated by hard nosed developers and property companies. If they don't pay their way they get demolished, simple really!

where they are owned by NCP or developers who have built / managed Shopping centres and the like that is the case, but in many cases town and city centre parking is Local authority

[roadtester]

I thought multi-storeys were on the way out too but a new one is being built near me as part of the redevelopment of the small (non A&E etc.) local hospital.

https://www.cambsnews.co.uk/news/health ... ital/9097/

This is spacious rural low-rise Cambridgeshire, so it does seem to be an odd place for a multi-storey.

[booshank]

Both have gone in Bath. The one at Ham Gardens went many years ago and the one at Avon St car park went recently.

[RichardA35]

These structures are commercial ventures owned and operated by hard nosed developers and property companies. If they don't pay their way they get demolished, simple really!

where they are owned by NCP or developers who have built / managed Shopping centres and the like that is the case, but in many cases town and city centre parking is Local authority

Same applies - do they support the council's policy objectives with regard to Active Travel, motorised transport, town centre vision/masterplan etc? If not, get rid and use the footprint for something else.

[Big L]

The one in my town centre is redundant and there are plans to demolish it. Although built of brick rather than concrete it suffers from stains running down the walls and is generally an eyesore. Even if it is torn down and replaced what will the replacement be? Both indoor shopping centres are full of empty units so retail isn't going to be the new use. The days when shoppers park their vehicles in these car parks and spend several hours walking round the shops are long gone. Everyone now wants to park outside the store they are visiting, purchase the items and be out again straight away.

Google the name of your town council and the word “redevelopment” and you’ll find out they’re hoping a developer is going to come along and build a multiscreen cinema and attached chain restaurants there, plus stuff on pretty much every car park they own in the town.

[RichardA35]

I thought multi-storeys were on the way out too but a new one is being built near me as part of the redevelopment of the small (non A&E etc.) local hospital.

https://www.cambsnews.co.uk/news/health ... ital/9097/

This is spacious rural low-rise Cambridgeshire, so it does seem to be an odd place for a multi-storey.

Same near us, and with a constrained hospital footprint 4 storeys of parking removes 3 storeys worth of floor area that is currently used for parking for medical building development. With a rising population and changing needs the medical planners are trying to provide for the next 20 -30 years of demand so more effective use of the floor area is key.

[Bryn666]

It staggers me how many MSCPs in the Midlands don't even have lifts. Talk about an accessibility nightmare.

Manchester might have lifts but it also has some very stupid parking policies like having on street spaces undercutting the adjacent car parks (it seems the partnership with NCP ended on a spur note) and locations that are a total pain in the rectum to access like the one in the middle of the Northern Quarter.

Instead of having a sensible think and rescoping parking policy to benefit visitors to the city who do need to drive in it seems the aim is to just milk the sweet sweet revenue regardless.

Whether or not you agree with having cars in cities becomes irrelevant, the ones that are there should be stored in sensible places that are easily located, secure, and sensibly priced based on, if owned by councils, maintenance needs not a need to plug council financial holes elsewhere. This is another failure of governance really to run municipal services as a service caused by all the other failures of governance that both central and local authorities have been responsible for.

For me, the real enemy in town centres are those scruffy bomb site car parks run by unscrupulous private companies that have no regard to accessibility, safety, or security whilst running questionable cash only enterprises that scream a front for something else. How the planning system allows these is beyond me.

[Truvelo]

The one in my town centre is redundant and there are plans to demolish it. Although built of brick rather than concrete it suffers from stains running down the walls and is generally an eyesore. Even if it is torn down and replaced what will the replacement be? Both indoor shopping centres are full of empty units so retail isn't going to be the new use. The days when shoppers park their vehicles in these car parks and spend several hours walking round the shops are long gone. Everyone now wants to park outside the store they are visiting, purchase the items and be out again straight away.

Google the name of your town council and the word “redevelopment” and you’ll find out they’re hoping a developer is going to come along and build a multiscreen cinema and attached chain restaurants there, plus stuff on pretty much every car park they own in the town.

And this is the first thing I saw.

"...and a Northern Gateway will be created to remove the existing subway under the Ringway which will connect the town centre to Beecroft Road car park via a new at grade crossing over the Ringway."

This is exactly the sort of nonsense we don't need. It's not as if the town centre is jammed enough as it is without more at-grade conflicts added

[IAN]

There could be another reason why older multistorey carparks will disappear within the next few years - They're not designed to cope with the weight of electric cars.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 52900.html

[doebag]

I thought multi-storeys were on the way out too but a new one is being built near me as part of the redevelopment of the small (non A&E etc.) local hospital.

https://www.cambsnews.co.uk/news/health ... ital/9097/

This is spacious rural low-rise Cambridgeshire, so it does seem to be an odd place for a multi-storey.

Same for the redevelopment of the QEH at Kings Lynn. They need to make space for the newbuild hospital on the same site.

[Jim606]

The one in my town centre is redundant and there are plans to demolish it. Although built of brick rather than concrete it suffers from stains running down the walls and is generally an eyesore. Even if it is torn down and replaced what will the replacement be? Both indoor shopping centres are full of empty units so retail isn't going to be the new use. The days when shoppers park their vehicles in these car parks and spend several hours walking round the shops are long gone. Everyone now wants to park outside the store they are visiting, purchase the items and be out again straight away.

That's certainly one very valid point. Here in Colchester, out-of-town shopping is booming with the recent developments near the A12 (Junction 26) Stanway. I assume people also like to park on the level?

Nicola_Jayne wrote: ↑Mon Jan 01, 2024 18:01
RichardA35 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 01, 2024 17:58
These structures are commercial ventures owned and operated by hard nosed developers and property companies. If they don't pay their way they get demolished, simple really!where they are owned by NCP or developers who have built / managed Shopping centres and the like that is the case, but in many cases town and city centre parking is Local authority
Same applies - do they support the council's policy objectives with regard to Active Travel, motorised transport, town centre vision/masterplan etc? If not, get rid and use the footprint for something else.

I think this is the case with Bradford, the old Hall Ings (NCP) MSCP wasn't fitting into the new vision of active travel and a proposed P&R, plus the location came to be seen as an eyesore.

[Ruperts Trooper]

There could be another reason why older multistorey carparks will disappear within the next few years - They're not designed to cope with the weight of electric cars.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 52900.html

What weight were they designed for - plenty of full-size SUVs weigh more than most EVs. My diesel VW Touareg weighs more than the Kia e-Niro referred to in the article.

[Jim606]

Probably one of the most famous MSCP's disappear in the last few years was the 'Get Carter' carpark in Gateshead https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/no ... k-18677174 the famous scene involved Michael Cane throwing the actor Brian Moseley from the top. It was ok though as Mr Moseley went on to star in Coronation Street as Alf Roberts the shopkeeper. I don't think we'll ever see anything like this Brutalist style MSCP being built again in a central location.

[trickstat]

Stevenage Borough Council have recently opened a new multi-storey by the railway station. I think this is to increase capacity as the existing car parks tended to be full by 8 or 9 on a weekday.

The same town's Lister Hospital also gained a multi-storey about 5 years ago.

I think it us true that a lot of them have reached a critical age. There may also be some places where there is no longer a need for that much capacity.