Castlepoint car park negotiations are almost finalised (From Thisisdorset)
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Castlepoint car park negotiations are almost finalised
10:00am Tuesday 1st January 2013 in Latest By Arron Hendy
MALIGNED: The Castlepoint car park
PLANS are expected to be finalised this year for the rebuild of the flawed Castlepoint car park.
The completion date for a new car park at the shopping centre now looks to be at least six years away if the completed contract for the new structure is agreed and work starts after 2013.
Mark Watt, of Standard Life Investments, the operator for the Castlepoint Partnership, said agreement is at “an end game” and “within touching distance”.
He said: “We are inching ever closer and we’ve had a fairly sustained period of effort towards the end of 2012.
“We are slowly getting there.”
Castlepoint temporarily closed in 2005 after the concrete floor and columns developed cracks in the raised car park.
Extra support was installed and will remain in place until the five phase, five year project gets underway.
Mr Watt said the Kier group, original contractors for the car park, will carry out the re-build.
Negotiations on the plans have included organising the insurance and making preparations for any possible claims made by tenants.
He said: “We are negotiating with Kier and they’ve got all their insurers in the background.
“But I think we are within touching distance.”
The shopping centre will remain open during the work and Mr Watt said replacement parking spaces will be made available within the boundaries of the centre to keep losses of car park spaces “minimal”.
“The good bit about this is that the centre continues to trade incredibly well,” he added.
Bill Riddle, operations manager at Castlepoint, said although they are currently “no further forward”, they have “a very successful centre”.
Comments(19)
Jetwasher
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10:22am Tue 1 Jan 13
Gordon Cann
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10:48am Tue 1 Jan 13
BmthNewshound
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11:13am Tue 1 Jan 13
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The next problem will be compensating retailers for the disruption the repairs will cause. Whilst Castlepoint management can try and keep parking space losses to a minimum they is bound to be disruption over a prolonged period.
Derf
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11:16am Tue 1 Jan 13
Presumably the workmen will have to chat to one another about who does what etc, which given the timescale thus far will take on average of 2 months per chat!
The-Bleeding-Obvious
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11:41am Tue 1 Jan 13
muscliffman
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12:04pm Tue 1 Jan 13
But then we get, 'operations manager at Castlepoint, said although they are currently “no further forward”, they have “a very successful centre”.
The story here therefore is exactly what, apart from suggesting that the left and right Castlepoint hands don't know what each other are saying.
Somehow I suspect the existing ailing structure will serve out it's time on those countless props before it's eventual, but quite routine, replacement.
Ian Rathbone
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12:37pm Tue 1 Jan 13
The car park is really bad, all those closed ramps and drivers who stop on roundabouts!
Paul mc61
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1:15pm Tue 1 Jan 13
Doesn't matter what they do to it as there is a serious shortage of road infrastructure to support it plus everything else that the clowns at the the town hall allow to happen in the castle lane corridor.
Castle lane is full and to the point of complete gridlock,and not one more property or business should be allowed to open or expand in the area, are you listening bbc.
spooki
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1:50pm Tue 1 Jan 13
bosco1
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3:03pm Tue 1 Jan 13
afcb-mark
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3:47pm Tue 1 Jan 13
Ian Rathbone wrote:Agree. They also should have done the job properly in the first place by building an indoor centre. depending on which way the wind is blowing you get soaked if it's raining and even more soaked if you park underground as it pours through the massive cracks in the concrete. Where else in this country do you need an umbrella in an underground car park! Pull the whole rotten thing down and start again and build something like West Quay.I bet it would actually be cheaper to start from scratch.
They should have done it properly years ago. Expanded blackwater junction, taken a new road down to castlepoint and the hospital and put in new car parks and park and ride facilities.
The car park is really bad, all those closed ramps and drivers who stop on roundabouts!
Cosmic Crusader
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4:01pm Tue 1 Jan 13
bosco1 wrote:It could be that the project has, in fact, cost too little! Perhaps the tendering process was so aggressive that the only way that the build could be completed at the price paid was by constructing to minimum standards.
This project has cost so much and now Mr Mark Watt from standard life investments states that Kier Group the original contractors are doing the rebuild, I wouldent want them back if it was my property, they couldent do a good job in the first place why give them another chance to .? !!
Bob Bournemouth
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4:15pm Tue 1 Jan 13
platypus
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4:34pm Tue 1 Jan 13
Chiqqy
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8:39pm Tue 1 Jan 13
I don't understand why Castlepoint was built the way it was. The car park is ridiculous, the road layout on Castle Lane is awful and you just get battered by the elements every time you come out of a shop. Why did they not do the shops on two floors and undercover ? This would have saved space. It's also a hell of a walk from one side to the other if you have mobility problems etc.
upyourpipe
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10:49pm Tue 1 Jan 13
geoffro
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4:49pm Wed 2 Jan 13
Richard 1976
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6:34pm Wed 2 Jan 13
Sbourne says...
10:14am Tue 1 Jan 13