Charges for car park after council buys back site

City of Wolverhampton Council will be re-introducing charges for the St George's car park in the city centre

Charges will be re-introduced at a city centre car park after a council bought back the site.

City of Wolverhampton Council will begin charging again at St George's car park, to help pay for the area's multi-million-pound regeneration, which includes 370 new homes, shops, offices, community spaces and green streets.

The cheaper charges for Monday to Saturday, include £1.50 for up to two hours parking, £2.50 for up to four hours and £4.50 for up to 24 hours.

All-day parking on Sunday would cost £1.50, the council added.

The supermarket in the grade II-listed St George's Church closed in 2014 when a new £60m supermarket opened half a mile away in Raglan Street.

The council bought the freehold for the St George's site in 2016, but it had been deemed "surplus to requirements'" by 2023.

In March, Sainsbury's lease on the site expired, returning the ownership and responsibility of the site back to the local authority.

The grade II listed former St George's Church in Wolverhampton, previously home to Sainsbury's, which is part of the city centre site earmarked for redesign and redevelopment

Horizon Parking had continued running the site until August, when its own lease expired, and the car park has since been free with the council not introducing charges until now.

The council said it will be reviewing charges and is expected to bring St George's car park in line with prices at its other city centre car parks.

The usual price would be £4 for up to four hours – a £1.50 increase – and £8 for up to 12 hours.

The regeneration of the area around the former Sainsbury's was backed in July by the Labour-run council's cabinet.

The cabinet included £234,000 within the budget this year to pay for holding the whole St George's site while development plans are finalised.

This would be paid for using the income generated from the car park itself.

An artist's impression of the proposed new neighbourhood at the former Sainsbury's St George's site in Wolverhampton

Capital&Centric has been working with City of Wolverhampton Council on designs to turn the five-acres of land at St George's into a new city centre neighbourhood.

The work is expected to begin at the end of next year and would be ready by spring 2029.

It would feature shops, workspaces and commercial space and would link to the new Wolverhampton College at the £61m City Learning Quarter, which opens later.

Last month, the council introduced free parking at the city's Broad Street car park, in a bid to boost visitors between now and Christmas.

The council also increased parking charges a year ago, stating it would bring in an extra £1m in the face of mounting financial pressure.

Some locations saw prices for an all-day ticket rise from £4.50 to £9.