Traders 'affected' by part-closure of car park

Upper sections of Moorfield car park, in Truro, were closed by Cornwall Council in 2024

A multi-storey car park, which has been closed for 18 months, after "concerns" were raised during an inspection, is affecting trade in a city, a politician has claimed.

Upper sections of Moorfield car park, in Truro, were closed by Cornwall Council after an engineering inspection in May 2024.

It resulted in the loss of more than 400 spaces in the 680-space car park.

Reform UK's Susanne Desmonde said: "Several prominent independent businesses have approached me regarding the lack of parking in Truro and the significant impact it is having." Cornwall Council said it was looking at what could be done at the site.

Desmonde, who represents Pool and Tehidy, told Dan Rogerson, the Liberal Democrat cabinet member for transport that businesses "are questioning why Moorfield has been deemed unsafe after over 50 years of safe use".

She told a meeting of Cornwall Council on Tuesday that officers said the building was "structurally unsafe", but an independent assessment found "it could be reopened safely if remedial works were carried out".

Rogerson said: "Moorfield car park has lived beyond the life it was built for.

"We have to take the advice of structural engineers and we will act on that."

Recently, further car parks in Truro have been shut to make way for a £170m city centre development, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council was putting together proposals to create the maximum car parking it could on the multi-storey car park site, he said.

"It's not going to fall on cars that are underneath it, but you can't put the weight on the top anymore, so the sensible thing to do is to take it down."

Desmonde said the council-owned engineering contractor Cormac advised her it would cost £50,000 to £100,000 to put the car park "back in operation again".