THE second phase of a £2 million repair programme at Poole's Dolphin Centre car park gets underway today.

Essential work is expected to take around four months but measures will be put in place to keep disruption to a minimum.

No more than two car parking levels will be closed at any one time and car park users are urged to follow temporary signage and instructions from people working at the site to ensure customer safety.

Access to the shops will be maintained throughout the works and the Dolphin Shopping Centre will continue to be open for business. The Shopmobility service will also continue as normal.

The second phase of the maintenance programme will cost around £900,000 and follows on from a previous phase of works, costing £1.1 million, which saw the refurbishment of the top deck of the customer car park last year.

This phase will include concrete repairs to ceilings, columns and floors and applying special anti-carbonation paint over the concrete surfaces to further protect the structure from deterioration.

A new low-energy lighting system will be installed, the outside of the car park will be painted and the signage and line markings will be refreshed.

John Rice, Engineering Manager, Borough of Poole, said: "This latest phase of extensive repair work is part of a co-ordinated programme to deal with a backlog of maintenance of Poole’s town centre car parks. We are now continuing with the major improvements to the Dolphin Shopping Centre’s multi storey car park to bring it to a standard expected by our customers."

He said the work is aimed at supporting the economic prosperity of Poole to benefit residents and attract visitors.

Dolphin Centre manager John Grinnell added: "The centre is a prominent part of Poole and we’re pleased that the car park will receive a refurbishment which will ensure it is suitable for customers to use for many years to come.

"Of course our priority is to ensure there is minimal disruption to shoppers and retailers. We will continue to work closely with the council to ensure the process is completed as efficiently as possible."