AceBreakingNews – The cost, which works out at £23,500 per space, has been criticised as ‘extraordinarily high’ at a time when the council has already warned it could make its employees redundant due to financial difficulties

Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Jan.12: 2024: Wales Online News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe

A cash-strapped council has spent £870,000 on a car park with just 37 spaces – equating to £23,500 per space. In an email seen by WalesOnline a Monmouthshire County Council official told Monmouth MP David TC Davies that a new car park in Monmouth at Wyebridge Street in the town, which will consist of 37 spaces and will be pay and display, cost almost £1m.

The council had been planning to build a car park at Wyebridge near the Queen’s Head Inn for two decades and it will finally be open in the spring. Locally many are pleased that the car park is to be built as shoppers and traders say there isn’t enough parking provision in the town.

But Mr Davies said several shocked constituents contacted him when word began to spread about the cost of the car park. He criticised the cost, which was originally forecast to be around £520,000, as “extraordinarily high”.

This is an important piece of infrastructure for the town allowing more shoppers to take advantage of what Monmouth has to offer,” Mr Davies said.

“ But like many others I am surprised by the length of time it has taken and I must question the cost, which seems extraordinarily high for what should be a fairly straightforward construction project.

“While I appreciate there needs to be excavation work, ground levelling, and drainage pipework etc even a cost of half a million pounds seems over the odds. But to then soar to £870,000 in just over six months is astonishing. That equates to £23,515 per parking space and is only an estimated cost too so the final total could be even more.” A council spokesman blamed ground conditions and inflation for the final cost of the car park.

In November the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported jobs were likely to be cut at the council as it faces a £1.4m shortfall. A council report published at the time reads: “Given the size of the budget gap it is likely that there will be redundancies within the council’s workforce in the lead-up to and during the financial year commencing April 1, 2024, notwithstanding every effort being made to avoid them.”

There are fears in Monmouthshire that, as has been seen elsewhere, residents could be facing significant council tax increases and further cuts to services in new budget proposals expected to go out for consultation next week. Mr Davies added:

“ At a time when Monmouthshire County Council has issued a stark warning on its future financial sustainability I have been contacted by several constituents who are understandably concerned about how this [car park] overspend has been allowed to spiral.”

The Checkatrade website states the average cost per parking bay for a multi-storey car park is around £11,000. A spokesman for Monmouthshire council said: “The cost of the car park has increased due to unforeseen ground conditions and rapid inflation costs and was budgeted within the highways’ overall budget. The facility will be a central car park for Monmouth providing much-needed support to the local businesses and community. 

“The car park is almost complete and will undergo a safety check before opening to the public shortly. This project will deliver a car park that is much sought after within Monmouth. 

“The initial estimate was based on budget allocation and not updated work costs. The difficult ground conditions, additional drainage requirements, and the unprecedented inflationary cost experienced throughout the construction industry have significantly increased the scheme’s cost. Most of the work required to develop the new car park was undertaken by the council’s operations department. The net cost of construction work paid to external parties was £572,240.”

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