News

Probe launced after cracks appear in Norwich multi-storey car park

St Andrew's Car Park

Investigations are under way after cracks started to appear in an award-winning Norwich city centre car park.

Reinforcements have been put in place at St Andrew's Car Park as the top deck has shown signs of cracking around two small areas where the drainage channels are.

Norwich City Council officials have insisted the multi-storey car park is stable and safe to use, but for many in the city it will bring back memories of when the previous car park was demolished because of serious structural defects.

Amy Lyall, communications officer for transportation at City Hall, said: “We have found some minor cracking in the top deck at St Andrew's Car Park and have put supports in place as a routine precaution while we investigate the cause of the problem and how best to resolve it. The car park is stable and is safe to use.”

She said the cracks started to be monitored in July 2009 and, after six months, they decided to install props as a precautionary measure to ensure the areas affected could continue to be used safely while further monitoring takes place.

The previous multi-storey car park was demolished in 2002. The new 1,082 replacement, which ended up costing the city council almost £1m more than was originally estimated, opened in July 2005.

Even though it was named Best New Car Park of the Year in 2006, it has been hit with problems. Less than two years after it opened, more than 70 spaces had to be closed for vital repairs because there were problems with the flooring on one of the levels to the £9.5m structure.

Initially, the car park also failed to pull in as many users as the council had hoped, prompting parking charges to be increased elsewhere in the city to compensate.

News of the cracks has prompted calls for the matter to be addressed immediately.

Antony Little, leader of the Tory group at the city council, said: “The council needs to make an immediate evaluation of what needs to be done.

“A massive amount of people go in and out of that car park every day and their health and safety needs to be protected. If there has been a construction problem then the council needs to find out whom and what were responsible. If they move any slower then questions will be asked.”

Rupert Read, transport spokesman for the Green Party, said news of the cracks was “dismaying”. He said: “This is bad news for our cash-strapped council. The St Andrew's Car Park has been such a long saga with the previous car park being demolished and cracks appearing in this one so soon after it opened.

“It reminds us that multi-storey car parks are enormously expensive and we really need to try to find cheaper and more effective ways to transport people around Norwich.”

Do you have a story for the Evening News? Call reporter Kate Scotter on 01603 772326 or email kate.scotter@archant.co.uk