Town divided on future of multi-storey car park

John and Pamela Palmer said they no longer drove into Worthing because of issues with parking

A West Sussex town's multi-storey car park will not be repaired because it would be too expensive, a council has announced.

Grafton Car Park in Worthing was closed in May after a section of concrete collapsed due to an unstable supporting beam.

Worthing Borough Council previously said the repair work to allow the car park to reopen would cost more than £17m, which the authority said would be a waste of taxpayer money.

The decision not to repair the car park until redevelopment has divided the opinion of local business owners and shoppers.

The council said it had already spent £2m on repairing the building in recent years

Paul O'Brien, owner of the I Love Candy sweetshop, said tidying up the seafront was important for trade.

"We've got enough parking, so it would be nice to see the seafront redeveloped because that's one of our biggest draws," he said.

"We have enough parking, but it's just not very well sign posted."

John and Pamela Palmer disagreed, adding that parking in the town centre had become so bad since Grafton Car Park closed that they no longer drove in to town.

"We have to come on the bus," Ms Palmer said.

Mr Palmer added: "£17m is far too dear, but another site should be found. The parking is terrible."

Resident Laura Holmes said: "There's a lot of development going on as it is. Every time you turn a corner there's another one. Do we really need more?"

A number of businesses in the complex remain open despite the closure

The council said spending money on repairing the car park before it was redeveloped would not be delivering value for the taxpayer, so focus has turned to "transforming the site into a valuable regeneration project for the seafront and town centre" instead.

Several potential buyers for the car park have already come forward and the council said it hoped to select a developer by spring next year.

The Hollywood Bowl bowling alley, the Level 1 food and drink area and a small number of shops in Montague Street that also form part of the site will remain open to the public.

Council leader Sophie Cox said: "It's clear to us that the right thing to do is to focus on the regeneration of the site rather than spending taxpayers' money on a short-term fix.

"The Grafton car park has served Worthing well for more than 60 years, but it's now time for it to make way for a new, exciting project to reinvigorate the heart of the town centre for everyone who lives, works and visits here."