Last Thursday (15 June) the new Carnival multi-storey car park on the Carnival site in Wokingham was opened following the official ribbon cutting on Tuesday (13 June) by Wokingham Borough Mayor Cllr Rob Stanton.
The new car park is part of Wokingham Borough Council’s town centre regeneration plans, and will help meet the towns parking needs for years to come.
Cllr Philip Mirfin, deputy executive member for business and economic development and regeneration, said: “With the town continuing to grow, providing the right parking in the right locations for the town centre is very important. Not only does it offer great parking for businesses on the site including the Carnival Pool Leisure Centre and Wokingham Superbowl, it also helps offer plentiful parking on the southern edge of the town centre where people will be approaching from the new developments.
"The new car park operates a pay on exit system with no maximum stay meaning it’s a great option for people who want to stay longer in the town centre without having to go back to renew their pay and display ticket. It will also help free up more central car parks for people here to shop and socialise, helping to move medium and long stay parking to the edges of the town."
Key facts about the new car park
- Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week
- There is no minimum or maximum stay with the car park offering payment rates from 1 hour, to all day and overnight
- A 15-minute grace period is given before people have to start paying to allow for pick-ups and drop offs
- It offers 529 spaces across 9 half levels and includes 17 blue badge spaces, nine parent and child spaces and four electric charging bays
- Uses a number plate recognition system where people pay on exit as they leave the car park
- Payment machines accept both cash and cards
- Leisure centre users will be able to claim two hours free parking (which they will need to validate in the leisure centre reception)
- The ground floor will also include a brand new leisure unit which has been let to American Amusements Ltd the owners of the existing Wokingham Superbowl
- Their new facility will offer a state-of –the-art bowling alley, Laser Quest, a café and other entertainment onsite and is set to open later this autumn
Cllr Mirfin added: "This first phase of the Carnival proposals have been delivered with support from the Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnerships Growth Deals fund. This scheme aims to bring forward important infrastructure projects across the region. It’s allowed us to make sure the new car park has been completed and is ready to meet the towns parking requirements as we move forward with delivering our plans at Peach Place, Elms Field and Carnival Phase 2."
The new car park was completed on behalf of the council by Balfour Beatty.
Chris Hall, project manager at Balfour Beatty, said: "Today marks the final major milestone in the development of the new Carnival multi-storey car park in Wokingham town centre. Early collaboration with the council on its design through the Scape National Civil Engineering Framework, coupled with our vast experience in delivering projects of this calibre has ensured that we can provide local businesses and residents with a solution to all future parking requirements."
Over the coming months people will continue to see some works going on around the site as Wokingham Superbowl complete the fit out of their new unit ready for opening in the autumn and the council complete further landscaping and planting around the car park.
People can find out more about Wokingham’s car parks, including information on charges, opening hours and locations on the car parking page.
