Reopening Worthing car park could cost council £17m
A council is to consider the future of a car park that could cost between £17m and £32m to repair.
Grafton Car Park in Worthing, West Sussex, was closed in May after a section of concrete collapsed due to an unstable supporting beam.
On Monday night, Worthing Borough Councillors (WBC) were told an independent report suggested that the minimum work to allow the car park to reopen would cost in excess of £17m.
Council leader Sophie Cox said: “The estimates for the work are far beyond what we can afford using our reserves and our own funding over the coming years.”
The most basic work, which does not comprise required maintenance on the building’s lifts or drainage, does not include the additional cost of borrowing the money needed to fund the work, nor any planning or legal costs.
The report outlines four potential solutions to the car park’s issues, including the installation of new steel support beams for the existing deck and refurbishment of the site, and a complete replacement of the deck and refurbishment of the car park.
The options are expected to extend the life of the car park to between 10 and 25 more years.
Cox said: “Such a huge bill could saddle the borough with borrowing costs that would need to be met through significant increases in fees, charges and council tax for years and years, as well as reductions in the services we could offer.”
The options will be considered by the council’s joint strategic committee at its next meeting on 11 September.
Residents of the nearby Knightsbridge House block used the car park for their residents parking bays and were concerned the closure of the car park could impact its property value.
Alternative parking has since been found for residents at other town car parks and by utilising the staff parking spaces at nearby businesses for less mobile residents.
In November 2023, WBC announced plans to sell and demolish Grafton Car Park, an idea first mooted in 2007.
In July, the council’s joint strategic committee agreed to relaunch the search for a developer to help transform the site, and on Monday the process to find a developer resumed.
The council said it could be in a position to select a developer for the project in spring 2026.