Maidenhead car park to be demolished after concrete falls

The car park was closed on New Year's Eve after a piece of concrete fell from the ceiling

A town centre car park that was shut over safety concerns will be demolished.

Broadway Car Park in Maidenhead, Berkshire, was closed in December, after moisture in cracks caused concrete to fall from the ceiling.

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) council's cabinet voted to demolish the building after a report suggested the 1960s structure was "beyond its economic life".

Work is expected to start in October.

Council officers recommended that the 40-year-old building should be demolished to eliminate any risk to public safety, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councilllor Geoff Hill, the authority's lead on highways and transport, said there were "significant structural failures", with the council report stating it was a result of water eroding the reinforced steel.

Mr Hill said: "It is safe to walk around it, but it is certainly not safe on the inside."

He added there would be an "extensive" traffic management plan and that Broadway would be closed for "quite some time".

The demolition work on the 734-space, multi-storey structure, which is near to the Nicholson's shopping centre, is expected to take about 10 months and will cost about £3.15m.

As well as addressing safety concerns, it was hoped that the demolition would help limit anti-social behaviour in the town centre.

A decision has not yet been made on what will be done with the site after the demolition work is complete.