The car park at the bottom of Warwick Park between numbers 7 and 11 (there is no 9), has been deteriorating for many years. WPARA are keen to see this along with the rest of our area improved.
The car park was built in the early 1970s by the developer who built the original houses between 11 and 29. The parking spaces were sold off, some to Cumberland Walk residents and to local businesses, however the bulk were bought by Pantiles House (the offices opposite the entrance to Warwick Park in Nevill Street). The garages were given to the house owners on the opposite side of the road to overcome a restrictive covenant which prevented development on the land. Over time owners sold their garages either to raise money or because their cars were too big, many are currently used as storage or are abandoned.
Over time without maintenance trees and shrubs encroached and the surface became and still is very uneven. This spring Pantiles House undertook a major refurbishment of their area on the western side nearest to the Church Hall. This work entailed cutting down encroaching laurel trees, clearing rubbish which had been dumped in the ‘undergrowth’ and removing excess soil which had built up in the previous 50 years. In all they removed two lorry loads of detritus.
The hotel One Warwick Park has in recent years acquired many spaces in the central row and currently lets them to hotel residents for £12 per day. They also have improved their area. During our biannual ‘spring cleans’, WPARA volunteers have cut back vegetation and cleared weeds from in front of the disused garages in an effort to make the car park look more lived in.
The remaining problems are the road surface which is very poor and the state of many of the garages, which look quite dilapidated. WPARA would like to repaint the doors and together with Pantiles House we are trying to trace the current owners of those unidentified, sadly this is the majority. Land Registry fees for searches are likely to be beyond WPARAs finances, however, watch this space for updates on our progress.
August 2023
