A POPULAR Stockton Heath car park blighted by potholes will be resurfaced at a cost of around £700,000.

Warrington Borough Council’s (WBC) scheme at The Forge, off Egerton Street, will see the toilet block at the site removed and it will acquire additional land to increase the number of car park spaces.

Emergency repairs are expected to take place in the next two weeks.

Funding has already been identified for the project, which will need to come before the cabinet for approval.

The work could begin in January and is expected to take 14 to 16 weeks to complete.

But whether a full or partial closure of the car park will be needed while the work takes place will only be confirmed in the tendering stage.

Warrington Guardian:

The Forge car park

Cllr Hans Mundry, cabinet member for transportation, highways and public realm, says the resurfacing scheme is estimated at £700,000.

The Labour politician said: “I am quite aware that we need to do a proper, full scheme on the car park.

“We have looked at lots of options, some are too expensive.

“This is not a knee-jerk reaction, it’s something we have been working on already.”

The council confirmed it has received a number of recent complaints about the condition of the surface of the car park.

NHS worker Paula Gilmore started a petition to get The Forge repaired and, ideally, resurfaced. It now has more than 620 signatures.

Warrington Guardian:

The Forge car park

Paula says she was spurred into action after seeing her neighbour struggle with a pushchair when she was using the site, adding it made her think about how ‘treacherous’ it would be for someone in a wheelchair or with mobility issues.

She said: “I’ve heard from one person who has a child in a wheelchair, who says she is unable to use the car park because of the potholes.

“In light of coronavirus, there are many wheelchair users and people with mobility problems who can only get to the shops using their cars.

“They are essentially being restricted from using The Forge shopping centre.”

Furthermore, Warrington Conservatives chair and business owner Wendy Maisey said the council’s ‘short-sighted’ decision to reintroduce charges at its car parks is disappointing.

Cllr Kath Buckley added: “We need to extend the free parking until at least the end of July, ideally until September 1, to entice shoppers back into Warrington.”

Cllr Mundry said any money which the council receives from car parking and highways schemes goes back into transportation projects.