December 5, 2013 10.11 am This story is over 123 months old

Lucy Tower car park opens early for Lincoln Christmas Market

Partial reopening: The Lucy Tower multistorey car park on Brayford Pool in Lincoln has reopened early for the Lincoln Christmas Market.
City Council Chief Executive Andrew Taylor and Leader Ric Metcalfe at Lucy Tower car park. Photo: Stuart Wilde

The Lucy Tower multistorey car park on Brayford Pool in Lincoln has partially reopened early for the Lincoln Christmas Market.

Around 400 spaces are available from midday on December 5 for visitors to the city for the 31st traditional Christmas market uphill.

Normal pay and display parking tariffs apply.

The car park has partially reopened ahead of a full completion date expected in February. Work the site began in March and was meant to be completed in August, but structural repairs delayed the works.

The delay on site resulted from the discovery that large areas of steel within the concrete on each floor were far more corroded than initially thought.

This only became apparent when large parts of the concrete were removed, the council said.

Some construction work will continue during the early opening on parts of level 3, while final decorations and sealing works will be carried out in the new year. The building’s toilets are not available yet.

Ric Metcalfe, City Council Leader, said: “Lucy Tower is a crucial resource for the city and we are pleased to be in a position where we can reopen much earlier than we anticipated.

“Most importantly, this is being done in time for the Christmas Market weekend and, of course, for the whole Christmas shopping period.

“We realise these unavoidable delays have caused problems for local businesses and visitors, but it was necessary to ensure repairs are completed to the highest standards.”

The City Council said the delayed works meant loses of £20,000 per week, but by opening the car park early it would be able to recover some of the lost income.

Lucy Tower car park was built in the 1970s and is constructed primarily of reinforced concrete.

Over recent winters, the cold weather and salts brought in from the roads has caused corrosion to parts of the car park, leading to the decision to close the 458-space car park for essential repair works.

The initial estimated cost of the works was £1.1 million. The works are expected to extend the life of the car park by 10 years.

Lucy Tower brings more than £850,000 per year in revenue for the council.

Lucy Tower car park prices

  • £ 1.50 – 1 hour
  • £ 2.50 – 2 hours
  • £ 4.00 – 3 hours
  • £ 5.00 – 4 hours
  • £ 7.50 – 24 hours – ends at 08:00
  • £ 3.00 / overnight – in after 18:00 out by 08:00
  • £ 2.00 / motorcycle

For more on the Lincoln Christmas Market, see our superguide.