Council to spend millions on loss-making car park

A council is debating spending £2.6m on repairs to a loss-making car park, which would still be projected to lose £169,000 a year afterwards.

North Somerset Council is locked into a lease until 2058 for the maintenance of a multi-storey car park on Carlton Street, Weston-super-Mare, but the poor building quality means large parts of it are closed.

The council made a loss of £269,000 in 2024/25, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A £2.6m plan to carry out repairs and reopen the upper floors is considered the "best option" to reduce long-term losses.

The repair plans are one of four options being considered by North Somerset Council.

The authority owns the freehold for the land which the car park is built on, but is leasing the car park back from the owners with a 200-year lease.

That situation was described as the "worst deal any council has ever signed", according to council leader Mike Bell.

Other options for the car park include permanently closing the upper floors, which would lead to a £71,000 annual loss, but would breach obligations in the lease that 350 parking spaces need to be open to the public.

Another option would be to close the car park entirely, which would see the council lose £473,000 and breach the lease. Demolishing the structure would cost £14.7m and lead to even higher annual losses.

Speaking in November, Bell said: "I hate blaming previous administrations for things but the fact is that the deal that was signed back in 2012 was an absolutely terrible deal for taxpayers and a terrible deal for the council."

Council officers have recommended spending the money to reopen the upper floors as the best option.

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