Revamping Llanelli’s multi storey car park

LLANELLI’S 41-year-old multi storey car park in Murray Street is having a £1.7million face lift.

 

The reclading of the six-storey car parking space for 525 cars right at the heart of Llanelli together with new lighting will ensure the car park fits in with the major renovations going on all about Llanelli’s Town centre.

The refurbishment is costing more than twenty times what the original car park cost to build.

A planning application has recently been submitted for the first phase of the scheme which involves the removal of the existing concrete parapets and their replacement with anodised expanded aluminium mesh cladding emulating the effect at the multi storey car park at St David’s Shopping centre, Cardiff.

Phase 1 is planned to be complete in mid 2012 in time for the exciting £25-million East Gate opening which will be following on before Christmas next year.

The second phase will start later in 2012 and will involve repairing the damaged concrete, waterproofing, repainting the bays, replacing the lifts and improving the interface with the Elli Centre. This phase will continue on until mid 2013.

Phases 1 and 2 are funded by Carmarthenshire County Council’s Capital Programme.

County executive board for engineering and transport services Cllr Philip Hughes said: “The aging multi story car park has been plagued with problems since it was built but this investment will ensure it has a serviceable life of another 20 or 25 years.”

The replacement of the existing lighting will save approximately £9,000 year in running costs, on an invest to save basis.

The ground floor of the multi storey car park serves as the home for Llanelli busy indoor market.

When the multi storey car park was opened in 1970, at a cost of £9,000, it was one of the first built in Wales. Llanelli’s Chamber of Trade and Commerce launched the significant milestone in Llanelli’s retail life with a grandiose Ideal Home style exhibition before the market stalls were erected in the ground floor space.