Nuneaton Town Centre Faces Parking Challenges Amid Major Regeneration Plans
Nuneaton town centre is set to face a significant parking crisis as part of a new regeneration project. The £24.49m ‘Justice Walk’ development on Vicarage Street will see the current Justice Walk car park closed. This decision comes as the site will be required for the construction machinery needed for the project, which includes the demolition of the former Royal Mail building, Powell House, and the old Wilko store.
The area will be redeveloped into a new library, office space, and residential homes. Although no official start date has been announced, Warwickshire County Council has indicated that the demolition work is expected to begin later this year. As a result, the Justice Walk car park is anticipated to be unavailable by Christmas.
In addition to the Justice Walk car park closure, the Orchard Street car park, located opposite the Justice Centre, will also shut down when the delayed plans to reconfigure the three-legged Wheat Street junction with Vicarage Street into a four-legged layout commence. This means the loss of two car parks in the town centre, prompting concerns from local officials about the impact on parking availability.
County councillor Keith Kondakor raised alarms during a borough council cabinet meeting, warning that the closures could lead to a “disaster” for parking in the area. He highlighted that the town centre has already lost a major car park—the old Co-op car park off Abbey Street—due to the Grayson Place development. While phase 2 of this project is still ongoing, it will eventually create a new surface-level car park on the Queens Road side. However, no opening date has been confirmed yet.
Currently, there is a small new car park near the Hampton-by-Hilton hotel, but it cannot accommodate a large number of vehicles. Councillor Kondakor expressed concern over the lack of clear timelines for future parking arrangements. “It is going to be a disaster to lose more car parking,” he said during a debate on capital spending. “We are going to lose the car park at Wheat Street. It would be nice to have some car parking visibility as it is going to be a disaster to lose yet more car parking.”
He further warned that the car park closures could affect a key source of council funding—business rates. “If you lose car parking, then if a business near that car parking closes, then you end up in a downwards spiral,” he explained. “I do think we need to look at it, not just car parking, it is bus services too. Actually having good transport links to places improves businesses and you get more business rates in.”
Councillor Kondakor emphasized that the council retains 40 per cent of business rates, making it crucial to maintain business viability. “It is well worth not losing businesses,” he added.
Despite these challenges, several car parks remain open in the area, including Ropewalk and Harefield Road, as well as those behind the Town Hall and in Victoria Street. However, the combined effect of multiple closures could significantly impact both residents and local businesses, raising concerns about the long-term implications of the ongoing regeneration efforts.
