Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Station multi-storey could provide parking template for city’s future
Councillors give go-ahead for £5m three-storey facility at Network Rail site ‘If the principle works, we would look to other sites which could be suitable for multi-storey set-ups’
A network of multi-storey car parks could soon be a feature of Canterbury’s urban landscape after the city council formally approved a £5 million scheme for Station Road West.
Councillors nodded through the plan to add two decks to the car park last Thursday, but leader Simon Cook is hinting that building extra levels on surface car parks could be the blueprint for the development of other central areas.
The authority will need to apply to itself for planning permission for Station Road West site, and is hoping it can start the six-month building project in the new year.
“If this works, then it will be something we could look at replicating elsewhere,” Cllr Cook said.
“Other car parks, such as Rosemary Lane and Hawks Lane, could be looked at.”
The work at Station Road is turning the 129-space car park into one capable of holding 400 vehicles.
It is being done in part to answer the calls for more car parking from business owners in the city, and because of a projected increase in commuter rail travel from Canterbury West.
Wincheap Lib Dem councillor Nick Eden-green said: “I’m very much in favour of the plan for Station Road West, but I wonder whether it is actually going to fulfil the need for car parking across the district.”
Cllr Cook told the meeting that there was no starting date for the work, but he told the Gazette last month that he hoped it would be under way in the new year.
Council spokesman Rob Davies added: “If the principle of this works, we would look to other sites which could be suitable for new multi-storey set-ups.”
The Station Road West scheme is also likely to feature a row of shops along the street.
In a report for councillors, transportation manager Richard Moore said: “Canterbury West is now the primary rail hub for Canterbury, and the car parks managed by ourselves and Network Rail are fully used.
“Network Rail and Southeastern have evidence to show that the potential growth in rail traffic from Canterbury West is sig- nificant in future years, and that it may be held back by the lack of adequate parking at the station.
“We are also keen to recognise the development of St Dunstan’s and St Peter’s Street as centres of small trader retail activity, and to provide good short term parking for shoppers.
“Providing a multi-storey car park would meet the current parking need and provide the most cost-effective and practical solution to meet future demand in the area.”
What do you think? Email kentishgazette@thekmgroup.co.uk or write to Gazette House, Estuary View Business Park, Whitstable, CT 53SE