Car park to be demolished after three-year closure

A multi-storey car park that has been closed to the public for three years will now be demolished.

Bracknell High Street car park was closed in 2023 after surveyors warned the council of corrosion.

The multi-storey car park was built in the 1970s and deemed to be unsafe as it was not built for modern, heavy cars.

Bracknell Forest Council made the decision to demolish the car park at a meeting on Thursday, where it was explained the work could take six months or longer.

The car park provided 980 parking spaces for shoppers and office workers visiting the town centre.

It was also home to grassroots music venue The Acoustic Couch, and council-affiliated services.

Sheila Collings, the vice-chair of the committee, said: "We know the car park needs to go.

"We are assured that the community facility which is being removed will be put forward in any planning application that comes forward.

"I'm hoping it will be suitable for the music venue that we lost, which was very popular.

"There are obviously opportunities to make improvements to the town centre as a result of this demolition."

The project is being undertaken by the Bracknell Forest Cambium Partnership, a joint venture between the council and Countryside Homes.

Suggestions for alternative uses for the space include 142 apartments, outlined in the council's town centre masterplans supplementary document.

There is also the potential for community facilities, such as The Acoustic Couch, to be relocated to replacement buildings.

One local resident Victor Rones expressed concern about the decision and its impact on the town.

He said: "In my view, this town will be filled with high-rise flats that make the town look like a bad slum area with flats from Mile End, Stepney or Stratford in East London.

"If I were younger, I would get out of this rat hole."