Telford car park suggestion deemed too costly
A SUGGESTION to place a “badly-needed” new car park on top of a filled-in underpass have been described as too expensive and impractical by council officers, a report says.
In January, Telford & Wrekin Council announced plans to fill in two rarely-used underpasses in Stirchley, Telford, at a cost of £130,000.
The passages, which were built in the 1970s, have become a focus for anti-social behaviour. A resident contacted the local authority to suggest the levelled land that will be created could provide new parking spaces, but engineers say the filler material used underfoot will not be strong enough to support a car park.
In a report before the borough’s Scrutiny Management Board, Democratic and Scrutiny Services team leader Deborah Moseley said: “The resident states that there is presently work being carried out to fill in the underpass from Catherton.
“Instead of grassing the area, she suggests that it could be made into badly-needed additional car parking spaces.
“The resident refers to parking issues in close proximity, exacerbated by narrow roads in Catherton, and notes that any additional parking would raise spirits and enhance the community.”
Summarising comments received in reply from council officers, Ms Moseley said: “Catherton was on the recent list for considerations of additional parking spaces.
“As with many new town estates, the available land is restricted and those that are available often have utility services in them that can then increase the cost of implementing new parking considerably.
“The underpass will be filled with foam concrete and then surrounded by structural fill and topsoil.
“It will be designed to accommodate footways and pedestrian traffic but would not be designed to accommodate the weight of a small car park. To do with would require more ground work to be undertaken and then the cost of implementing the parking spaces plus any drainage impacts. As such, the cost of doing this would be quite high.”
Telford & Wrekin Council’s Scrutiny Management Board, which oversees and assigns work to the borough’s back-bench committees, will discuss the suggestion when it meets on Tuesday, March 12.
The seven-member panel will also receive an end-of-year report.
By Alex Moore - Local Democracy Reporter
