Fareham multi-storey carpark to be replaced after plans were approved

Fareham Borough Council’s planning committee approved a new surface car park, which will involve the demolition of the multi-storey car park. The new car park boasts 139 spaces together with EG charging points and solar panel canopies – it’s hoped the scheme will be completed before the opening of Fareham Live, the council’s new community arts and entertainment venue currently under construction. The car park will offer no motorcycle spaces and eight disabled spaces.

Speaking to the committee, councillor Katrina Trott said she’s ‘very pleased that the hideous monstrosity is going’.

However, she added she was ‘concerned’ about the lack of motorcycle spaces.

Cllr Susan Walker: ‘I take on board the disabled parking numbers, but there’s also no mums and baby parking spaces either.

‘We don’t have any motorcycle spaces, I don’t think we’ve got enough disabled spaces, we’ve got no mums and toddlers spaces.

‘Have we actually taken into consideration the standards of this car park – we’ve missed, I think, some of the essential spaces we should’ve put in there.’

In response, Cllr Nick Walker, chairman of the planning committee, said he doesn’t think the lack of motorcycle and disabled spaces is ‘of huge concern at this stage’.

He added: ‘This is a planning application on this site for that amount of spaces which can be adjusted presumably at a future date.

‘I have all sorts of concerns but they’re not for this meeting, they’re for years and years to come when I’m no longer here.’

Cllr Joanne Burton said she is in support of the application ‘regardless of parent and child spaces’.

‘No matter how many spaces you have you will never meet demand,’ she added.

‘The multi-storey car park is massively underused and I think a lot of that is because people don’t like multi-storey car parks. They don’t make you feel particularly safe, there’s a lot of anti-social attraction.’

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