Greenwich Council is to spend £8 million on repairing a crumbling 1970s car park in Woolwich because of fears that passers-by could be hit by falling concrete.
But residents in a development next door could end up paying part of the bill to fix the six-storey block in Calderwood Street, which is also home to a Sainsbury’s supermarket.
The car park opened in 1973 with 636 spaces and a commanding view over the town centre. But the building is now dilapidated with moisture getting into the concrete, making the steel inside rust and expand, leading to pieces of concrete falling off.
Water has also leaked into the Sainsbury’s below as well as neighbouring council offices, while the lifts are worn out and expected to fail completely within the next two years.
The council plans to repair the concrete and resurface the car park to stop the leaks. It says this will keep the building standing for another 10-15 years.
“Not carrying out the works to this building causes significant risk of further concrete breaking off,” a council report says. “This, being a public building, would put users at risk of injury and/ or property damage to cars, etc. The works we are proposing eliminates this risk by removing all damaged concrete and reinstating damaged areas.
“Doing nothing would result in the car park falling into disrepair and likely having to shut due to safety concerns, it would also need full scaffold wrapping to prevent concrete falling. All of which will cost significant sums of money and cause major disruption to the Woolwich town centre.”
Since 2002, the top three floors have been leased to the company that manages the Vista Building – flats in adjacent blocks that were converted from office buildings of the same era – and have been closed to the general public.
Car parking spaces have been sub-let to residents in the Vista Building, and they face being charged for a portion of the bill, although council documents – published on an obscure section of its website last week – say that the final decision is down to Vista Properties.
About a third of the total bill could come from both the Vista building and Sainsbury’s landlord, according to the council.
Vista residents have made clear their unhappiness about the amount they are paying for the car parking spaces. In January this year one put a question to a council meeting claiming that bills featured an “alarming £500 escalation every five years”.
The question was never heard because the public were shut out after a protest in the public gallery. But Aidan Smith, the council’s cabinet member for regeneration at the time, made clear that the council was not interested, saying in a written response that leaseholders had entered into their contacts “freely”.
The work would begin next year and take 12 months, a council report indicates.
If you’re a Vista resident who can help explain how the bills work, please get in touch.
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