Gloucester multi-storey car park closed over concrete safety fears
A multi-storey car park in Gloucester has been closed due to concerns about its safety.
Longsmith Street Car Park, which is owned by the city council, was shut after an inspection revealed holes and cracks in the concrete.
It's a popular spot near the city centre and has 300 spaces. All of them are now empty and the gates to the facility are padlocked.
Independent city councillor Alastair Chambers says he has been concerned about the building for months and before it shut he shot video of some of the damage that he says resulted in its sudden closure.
He said: "I can snap the rusting exposed steel with my fingers, and the building is really raising safety concerns about structural integrity. It’s literally been appalling, what I have found."
A spokesperson for Gloucester City Council said: “The council began the process of the refurbishment of Longsmith Steet Car Park in March with the view to undertaking work to repair and upgrade it.
"Following a pre-planned inspection of the car park by a surveyor on Thursday it was agreed that the car park would close so that further investigations could take place.
"The council takes the safety of its buildings very seriously and regularly monitors and inspects its premises to ensure this.”
Council leader Richard Cook says the building is not unsafe but they were advised to restrict the maximum load until a full survey is done.
He said: "We had to take the decision to close all together to make sure people don’t all decide to park on the second floor and overload it.
“We hope we will be able to reopen as soon as we’ve got that full structural survey and that it is safe to do so.”
The council adds that the structure does not seem to be affected by so called RAAC, the problem with air-blown concrete which recently led to some school buildings being closed.
The authority has not yet given an indication as to when the car park will reopen.
Credit: Some words from Carmelo Garcia, local democracy reporter