Cost of new Wyebridge car park soars to £870,000

The cost of Monmouth’s new 37 space public car park has rocketed to a staggering £870,000, it has been revealed.

Main construction works on the Wyebridge Street car park behind the Queen’s Head Inn are now complete, with an official opening anticipated in early 2024.

But the long-awaited project, which is being funded by Monmouthshire County Council and finally commenced in November 2022, has been hampered by delays and “unforeseen issues” – pushing costs above the original budget estimate.

The town’s MP David Davies was told in May this year that the expected completion cost was £520,000. However, a Freedom of Information request from concerned residents shows the final estimated cost currently stands at £870,000.

Mr Davies described the sum of money as “extraordinarily high”.

Designed to help ease the ‘blockage’ at Glendower Street short stay car park, the new car park at Wyebridge Street will be a pay and display with a total of 37 spaces – including two dedicated bays for EV charging and one disabled parking bay.

Additional disabled parking spaces have been made available at Glendower Street, which is better located for users.

“This is an important piece of infrastructure for the town, allowing more shoppers to take advantage of what Monmouth has to offer,” said Mr Davies.

“But like many others, I am surprised by the length of time it has taken and I must question the cost, which seems extraordinarily high for what should be a fairly straightforward construction project.

“While I appreciate there needs to be excavation work, ground levelling and drainage pipework etc. even a cost of half a million pounds seems over the odds. But to then soar to £870,000 in just over six months is astonishing. That equates to £23,515 per parking space and is only an estimated cost too, so the final total could be even more.

“At a time when Monmouthshire County Council has issued a stark warning on its future financial sustainability, I have been contacted by several constituents who are understandably concerned about how this overspend has been allowed to spiral.”

Mr Davies said he had looked at figures on Checkatrade for rough guidance on how much it costs to build a car park.

“The Checkatrade website states the ballpark average cost per parking bay for a multi-storey car park is £11,000, so how we have ended up with an average cost of £23,515 per parking space for an off-street concrete car park is beyond me,” he added.