From Monday 30 October, work begins to prepare the old part of Garfield Road car park in Paignton for demolition.

Contractors from Wring Group will be seen in the area, as they set up welfare facilities for their team and establish safety measures to ensure the demolition works are carried out safely and efficiently.

In a carefully managed process, the old part of the car park which has been closed to most vehicles since September 2021 will slowly start to be taken down piece by piece from Monday 29 January 2024.

Victoria car park, which is adjacent to Garfield Road car park will remain open to motorists throughout the demolition works. Victoria car park can continue to be accessed via the normal routes, with normal opening hours and restrictions applying.

The demolition works are expected to last until Spring 2024. To ensure that disruption to nearby residents and businesses is kept to a minimum, mitigation measures will be in place that monitor noise and vibration levels, and a water suppression system will be operating to reduce the amount of dust the works will cause. Work will only take place between 8am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.

The demolition is being funded using Land Release Funding secured by the Council. For several years there have been plans for the regeneration of Garfield Road car park as part of the Council’s wider ambitions to re-develop the whole of the Victoria Centre.

Cllr Chris Lewis, Cabinet Member for Place Development and Economic Growth for Torbay Council, said; “The demolition of the old Garfield Road car park structure forms part of our Community and Corporate Plan ambitions to deliver priority capital projects within the Council’s Capital Programme, and to draw further private investment into our town centres to give them a new lease of life.

“Work of this nature will unavoidably cause some disruption to the local area, but we are confident that the mitigation measures we have in place will keep disruption to a minimum. We will regularly meet with the contractors to ensure that there aren’t any major issues that are affecting people’s day-to-day lives.

“What is key for businesses, residents, and visitors to remember is that despite the works, Victoria car park will remain open and accessible.”

To ensure the site remains safe and secure, Wrings Group will be taking all necessary precautions. Council security teams including CCTV, and local policing teams have been informed of the works and will also monitor the site. Members of the public who see anyone breaching the safety measures or attempting to access the site are encouraged to report it to Devon and Cornwall Police immediately.

Alternative car parking arrangements

Coach operators who used the ground floor of Garfield Road car park has been provided with an alternative parking location at Clennon Valley car park, with specially marked bays already available. Coach passengers can be dropped off and collected from the bus stops on the Esplanade (by the Geoplay Park) and Hyde Road.

On-street blue badge parking on Garfield Road will be unaffected by the works, with additional blue badge spaces available on Torbay Road and Queens Road.

Other high-sided vehicles can use surface level car parks and on-street parking spaces in and around the town centre. 

Information on Paignton town centre parking locations. 

Christmas parking promotion

Victoria car park will be included in the ‘pay for an hour, stay for the day’ parking promotion over the festive season.

The offer will run from Friday 1 December 2023 to Tuesday 2 January 2024.

More information on the parking promotion. 

Keeping up to date with this project

The best way to keep up to date with this project is by following the Council’s social media channels, or by signing up to the Paignton Projects newsletter. 

Read more information about this project.