Last updated 13:22, Saturday, 13 September 2008

ANOTHER car park is planned for Barrow town centre.

By Richard Herbert

The £350,000 contract parking area will be built on Holker Street, opposite the old Kwik Save, and should be finished in around six months.

Barrow Borough Council is creating the facility to “support commercial development” and is using the cash from the sale of the neighbouring site to pay for it.

Phil Huck, the council’s regeneration director, is seeking the thumbs up for the car park from the council’s executive committee when it meets on Wednesday.

Mr Huck has written a report to help the panel of councillors make an informed decision.

In it, Mr Huck said: “The council acquired the former Pye Motors land and 2 Holker Street in 2006 and members (of the council) have agreed to release a portion of the site to Accent Housing to develop an extra care unit (a block of 41 flats).

“The remaining portion of the site, adjacent to the access road to the railway station, did not form part of the development.

“In order to support commercial development in this part of the town centre, in particular Emlyn Hughes House and the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel, additional car parking would be beneficial and the residual site appears appropriate for this use.” Mr Huck said demolition work lasting at least eight weeks was programmed to get under way this month and planning permission for the car park would be sought in the autumn.

Mr Huck said: “The car park construction and landscaping works, subject to agreeing and confirming the detailed costs, are to be carried out by William Pye Ltd under a variation to the Emlyn Street car park works.

The works are to be completed before the end of March 2009.

“The cost of the demolition, site clearance, car park construction and landscaping is £357,579, to be funded by the capital receipt from the sale of the adjacent site to Accent, with the balance funded through Working Neighbourhoods Fund (a pot of government cash).”

The council’s £350,000 car park on Emlyn Street – just a stone’s throw away from Holker Street – was officially opened last month by Barrow mayor, Councillor Dave Roberts.

Most of the 52 car park bays are pay and display but there are also disabled and contract spaces.