Scaffolding at £13.9m car park costing thousands

Tens of thousands of pounds have been spent on scaffolding put up around a £13.9m council-owned car park opened three years ago.

The Vicus Way car park in Maidenhead, Berkshire, has been used since December 2022 but drainage issues have impacted lifts inside.

A piece of concrete fell from the building, and scaffolding has been needed around it since May 2024, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead papers state.

Councillors said a task and finish group should be introduced to address concerns about the car park and others in the borough.

The authority said it cost £11.7m to build the Vicus Way car park and £2.2m in "pre-construction costs".

Its steel structure means the concrete is not a structural problem. There are "no overall issues with [its] integrity" and the scaffolding has remained for safety reasons.

The council said the scaffolding cost £29,000 until August and is expected to cost £1,600 a month until inspections are complete.

The time it has been needed has been compounded by the council's contractor going into administration.

Average demand has increased at the Vicus Way car park from about 1,500 people using it every month in 2023/24 to about 2,300 people using it every month over the current financial year.

That has meant the monthly income it makes from it has doubled from about £6,600 to about £13,000 in 2025/26.

Speaking at a place and overview scrutiny panel meeting on Thursday, Liberal Democrat councillor Gurch Singh said Vicus Way has been a "real disaster area".

Fellow Lib Dem Adam Bermange, cabinet member for planning, governance and asset management, said the authority recognised its multi-storey car parks were "particularly at risk".

He said: "There were no maintenance budgets [for the car parks] so it's vital that we get those in place despite the very challenging financial circumstances we have.

"We are recognising the mistakes that have been made in the past and fixing the mess."

He added that over the past two financial years, an extra £1m has been brought in to stabilise maintenance budgets and bring them "up to standard".

Officers reassured councillors that there was a £155,000 retention budget to cover the works needed at Vicus Way but some of the money had already been used for the scaffolding.