It may not be a subject that grabs too many headlines, but occasionally the subject of car parks crops
up in the news, and recently two stories caught our eye.
Car parks are always incredibly well engineered and built to the highest of safety standards, so when
there’s a collapse, or you want to pull one down deliberately, people take notice!
Car park collapse in Nottingham
The first story we’re going to cover happened at Mount Street NCP car park in Nottingham in the
early hours of the morning of 19th August 2017. It’s still unclear how, but a large section of the
exterior wall and floor collapsed leaving several cars hanging over the edge of the car park.
Structural engineers have examined the site and are working hard to ensure the car park reopens
safely.
Fortunately, due to the timing of the incident, nobody was injured, although several people were
shocked by the noise. Roger Black, from Somerset, witnessed the aftermath and told the
Nottingham Post: “I’ve never seen anything like it, the whole wall has completely come away, and
part of the floor as well. It’s a good thing it happened in the early hours otherwise it could have been
a lot worse.”
Wakefield multi-storey car park demolished
From one car park that didn’t intend to come down to another that’s been destroyed deliberately!
Rishworth Street car park has been part of the Wakefield skyline since 1971, but, like many other car
parks of that era, it’s reached the end of its service and was destroyed in a controlled demolition on
Sunday 20th August 2017 – something guaranteed to be an early morning alarm call with a
difference for most of the locals in ear shot!
Wakefield has undergone a series of redevelopments over the past decade, and this demolition is
simply the latest phase, with the goal to revitalise the city’s civic quarter. Until a developer is found,
a ground level car park will be available on the site for public use.
Fortunately, car parks are built to such exacting standards that incidents like the one on Nottingham
are incredibly rare. For example, down at Trafalgar Street car park in Leeds, we’re currently
undertaking some renovations to ensure that our clients are safe and completely confident when
they leave their vehicles with us – something all modern car parks take seriously.
Our aim is for these upgrades to have minimal impact on our customers, and ensure years of
excellent service to you – so if you’re looking for a car park in Leeds, please pop down and see us at
Trafalgar Street!