Car park partially closes for fire safety work

Part of Nottingham's Broad Marsh car park will be closed for weeks for urgent fire safety work.

The top level of the car park closed on Monday and will remain shut until Friday 4 December, leaving dozens of spaces out of action.

Nottingham City Council said the closure had been put in place on the sixth floor of the car park to install a £315,000 sprinkler system.

Transport Nottingham thanked motorists for their patience in a statement and apologised for the inconvenience.

The work has been timetabled after an insurance company warned the council it would withdraw cover for the car park unless fire protection measures were installed, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

Council documents published in November last year revealed any failure to meet the insurer's requirements would mean the insurers would pay out between £5 and £15m if the building was badly damaged in a fire.

The council estimates it would cost £85m to rebuild the car park completely.

Officers warned councillors the authority would be left dangerously exposed in the event of a major fire if it accepted a lower level of cover and be left with no means to rebuild the car park.

They added it could be interpreted as negligence if the council failed to meet the insurer's requirements.

Meanwhile, the demolition of the nearby NCP car park in Maid Marian Way is expected to conclude in November, paving the way for the continued redevelopment of the greater Broad Marsh area.

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