Rooftop car park has lain unused for five years due to it having no vehicular access

Drivers in Farnborough, Hampshire, have been surprised to discover that the town has a car park that can only be accessed on foot and has been unused for five years. Parking in the town centre has long been an issue. The car park, above The Gym in Queensmead, has absolutely no way to access it by car, a council spokesman confirmed on Friday.

Construction work on the building was completed in 2010 with the residential fit-out taking place between 2011 and 2013. Parking bays in the car park have all been painted, including disabled bays and direction arrows. The borough council has said the only way to access the car park is by stairs or a lift, which also provides access to the rooftop residential refuse and cycle storage facilities. A statement adds: “The redevelopment of north Queensmead is a major regeneration project in progress in Farnborough town centre.



“It is being built in phases, with blocks one and two, including a Sainsbury’s supermarket, a Travelodge hotel, a JD Wetherspoons and apartments, now complete. As part of the planning permission, parking was provided on the roof of block two. The bridge link to this car park will be built as part of a future phase of the development.” St Modwen, the company that owns the building, said the car park had come about through phasing, adding that the parking was constructed as part of the development block containing Sainsbury’s.

Access is planned via an existing adjacent multi-storey car park. It said this area has yet to be developed but would have a short link bridge to the car park. Adding the block is still the subject of development appraisals, planning and assessment. On Tuesday, a spokesman for St Modwen said: “The construction was completed in 2010. There is no vehicle access at present but there is service access. Plans for the adjacent site are still under development so we can’t speculate on the timescale.”