New temporary car park in West End
Shoppers and visitors will be able to park in a new temporary car park in the West End of Plymouth just in time for Christmas shopping.
Contractors are installing ticket machines and road markings for 115 spaces on the site of the now demolished Mayflower multi-storey car park.
The temporary car park will be available until work on the new coach station gets underway and it is being opened ahead of schedule to encourage more shoppers to spend money in the West End.
Cabinet member for transport Mark Coker said: “We wanted to get some extra parking spaces in the West End of the city centre in time for Christmas and have pulled out all the stops to get these spaces sorted.
“We appreciate the patience traders have shown and hope some extra spaces before Christmas will bring extra people in before Christmas.”
Because the Council wants to make as many spaces available as possible, some work to tidy up the site, including painting, is still ongoing. Parts of the temporary car park will be coned off to enable this to happen, but the aim is to keep disruption to a minimum.
City Centre manager Stefan Krause said: “The traders appreciate the efforts being made to get this car park ready in time for Christmas.
“We work closely with the Council to make sure that traders’ concerns are listened to wherever possible. As a result of the recent consultation about the new coach station, a proposal to close Market Way to traffic was dropped, for instance.”
The design work for the new coach hub is progressing well and the Council is aiming for the planning application to be submitted at the end of November.
Detail design will get underway in the New Year and subject to planning, it is hoped that the work will begin on site next summer.
The new look coach station will have up-to-date passenger waiting facilities, seven coach parking bays, sheltered outside waiting area, taxi rank , passenger drop off/pick up area as well as improved public space and parking for over 100 cars
The new coach hub will replace the tired outdated coach station at Bretonside, which is being redeveloped as part of a major investment package proposed by British Land, the owner of Drake Circus and the UK’s largest listed retail landlord.
The proposal for ‘Drake Circus Leisure’ is for a 12-screen cinema complex, 13 restaurants as well as parking for over 400 cars as well as extensive improvements to public areas with features, seating and planting.
The scheme would transform the link from the city centre to the Barbican and the Waterfront, making it more attractive and easier for visitors and shoppers to move from one to the other.
