Bid to keep temporary car park open for 12 months

A temporary 24-hour car park in a city centre could be open for another year, if a council agree to an extension.

The 48-space car park, on the corner of School Street and Fold Street in Wolverhampton, was initially opened without permission at the start of 2024.

The owners then had their bid for retrospective planning permission rejected by City of Wolverhampton Council before a planning inspector overruled them and allowed it to stay for a year.

Now they have asked permission for another 12 months and a decision will be taken in the future.

The site sits next to the council's own 270-space Fold Street car park.

It was turned into a private 24-hour car park at the start of 2024 by Parkit Management, which manages the car park, without planning permission from the council.

When the council rejected their request in 2024, they said it would stand in the way of their regeneration plans for the area.

Work on the huge Smithgate development, the city's largest regeneration scheme with 1,070 new homes along with shops and bars, began last year.

The government inspector overruled the council's decision, saying they had not been given "any substantive evidence" that the car park was "discouraging redevelopment".

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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