Going up? More floors could be added to multi-storey

Tuesday 12 July 2016

Three new floors could be built on top of Patriotic Street multi-storey car park to cope with increased demand when the nearby hospital is rebuilt.

Giving evidence to the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel, Infrastructure Minister Deputy Eddie Noel said, “...if you stand on the top floor of the current building you soon realise it is now completely overshadowed. You could easily add two or three more floors and they would not be visible.”

Whether it will happen, and how it might be funded has yet to be discussed. But, according to Deputy Noel it is clearly obvious there will be a need for more parking when the multi-million pound hospital development is completed, and since his department is in charge of the scheme he’s keen to see a co-ordinated approach to re-working the site.

He also told the panel that Minden Place multi-storey car park, which was once facing demolition, has been given a new lease of life. “In terms of layout it is probably the department’s most inefficient multi-storey. And because there was a trend of cars getting bigger and bigger, the problem was getting worse. There just wasn’t enough room for cars to park. But that’s now changed. There’s a return to smaller cars, and continuing to operate Minden Place is once again worthwhile.”

The admission came after the panel’s vice-chairman, St John Deputy Tracey Vallois, asked if there were plans to knock down or build any new multi-storeys. The minister told the panel there’s been a change in policy.

Rather than build new car parks the department favours re-vamping them. Pier Road recently underwent a makeover. And on Sunday the department began a three-week project to overhaul Sand Street. According to the minister, not only does the work extend the buildings' lives but makes them a more pleasant place to visit.