Broadway demolition underway

During the initial stages of demolition further asbestos was discovered in a contained area of the closed Broadway car park, specifically between the wall and cladding on the King Street side of the building. Asbestos is common in many structures of this age.

This material was found in an area of the car park that could not be accessed and was only exposed once demolition work began. The council has notified the Health and Safety Executive and is now working with our contractor so that it can be safely removed.

Please be reassured that this doesn’t pose any risk to the public due to its inaccessible location.  These unforeseen circumstances will mean an extension to the original demolition programme, expected to be several weeks, while we work with our contractor to resolve this issue quickly and, importantly, safely.

As a result the planned partial and full road closures will be rescheduled for future dates. 

Further details

The demolition will be carried out from east to west with the spiral ramp and staircase tower being the last part of the car park to be removed.

A full road closure of Broadway will be required for several days towards the end of the work, in order to enable the safe demolition of the staircase tower, and dates and timings will be publicised in advance once confirmed.

Before this, a partial lane closure on Broadway will be needed to ensure a safe distance is maintained from the demolition works for passing traffic and pedestrians while the spiral ramp is demolished. This will involve the closure of the current vehicle lane, and the opening up of the right-hand lane to enable traffic to continue to access the town centre, and these dates will also be publicised soon.

Cabinet agreed in July 2023 to the demolition of the car park, to remove the safety risks posed by the failed structure, while reducing the potential for anti-social behaviour and town centre blight.  

Since closing the multi-storey car park for safety reasons in December 2022, the council has worked with contractors and specialists to fully assess the structure and consider options and associated costs for next steps. The 1960s concrete structure is now beyond its economic life and in significant structural failure, due to water ingress eroding the reinforced steel and needs to be demolished.

The project team can be contacted at BroadwayDemolition@RBWM.gov.uk

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