Movement on crumbled Mansfield car park to be announced ‘very soon’

The top floor of Walkden Street Car Park, one of the town centre’s main parking spots, caved in at the end of August last year and the site – including three shops that occupy units on its ground floor – has been shut ever since.

At the time of the incident, the car park was set for a multi-million-pound repair project, but after the collapse, the council decided they would demolish it instead.

But that move was postponed when Tesco, which leases the site from the council, got involved and conversations with lawyers have been ongoing ever since.

Now though, Andy Abrahams, Mansfield’s Labour mayor, has exclusively revealed that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that those involved will be explaining ‘how we’re going to move forward’ in the very near future.

He said: “We have been working hard with all the partners involved around Walkden Street.

"That includes Tesco, B&M, those involved with the lease in London.

“We will be coming to a conclusion of all those different meetings and negotiations very soon.”

Pressed on what this meant, Mr Abrahams said he would not confirm ‘at this point in time’ that any agreement had been reached.

He said: “It’s a very complex situation.

"There’s still 49 years of a 99-year lease left and all kinds of ridiculous things like that.

"We think it’s a structural collapse due to a failure of the original design.

"There’s all kind of legal and engineering ramifications.

“That’s why it hasn’t been straightforward to move ahead and do the demolition.

"But those negotiations and discussions are coming to a conclusion quite soon and we’ll be saying how we’re going to move forward.”

Despite the positive news, Mr Abrahams did not say there was any specific timeframe for the update.

He said: “I can only say ‘very soon’ at the moment.

"If you’d asked me at the end of January, I probably would have said a similar answer then, because the level of complexity around it was still unfolding.

“But what I’m saying now is that we’re in a different situation than towards the end of January.

"All the professional opinions, expert witnesses, all the things you have to take advice on before you come to a decision are coming to a conclusion.

"Very soon will be quite soon.”

For legal reasons, information has been scarce as to how talks on the status of the site have been progressing.

This has only added to the public’s and businesses’ frustration and impatience about the closure and when action will be taken.

The car park overlooks Stockwell Gate, a pedestrian street lined with commercial units.

But fencing put up to seal off the car park to the public has encroached halfway onto the street and made it look like it is closed, which traders say has killed their footfall.

The council and its partners have attempted to mitigate the construction-site appearance with social media campaigns and large signage to indicate the shops are still open.

One business was provided tax relief in lieu of lost earnings in the wake of the closure, with the council saying it ‘understood concerns’.

But the mayor reiterated to the LDRS that health and safety was the ‘priority’ and that the complexity of the situation, involving numerous back-and-forths between the lawyers of parties involved, is the reason for the length of time it has been taking to make progress on a solution for the site.