MULTI-million pound plans to demolish and rebuild Castlepoint’s flawed car park have been given the green light, with work due to begin in spring.

Planners at Bournemouth council have granted consent for the shopping centre car park’s rebuild, which will allow the park to remain open throughout the major work.

And Castlepoint’s owners and Kier, the original contractor, have issued reassurance that measures will be put in place to limit disruption and inconvenience to both customers and retailers.

Preparations will now get underway on the phased plan with the work expected to properly start in spring 2015.

Mark Watt, spokesperson for the owners, The Castlepoint Partnership, said: “This is the result we had hoped for. The council’s decision endorses our plan to deliver a long-term solution for Castlepoint, which will help it to retain and strengthen its position as a major destination in the retail hierarchy of the region.”

Sean Jeffery, managing director, Kier Infrastructure UK, said: “This is very welcome news. Together with the Castlepoint Partnership, we have worked hard to reach this stage.

“There remain a few key steps to put in place, but this consent brings us closer to being able to start work on-site.”

The car park demolition and rebuild will be done in five phases, starting at Sainsbury’s and working along the two malls.

Void spaces underneath some shop units will be opened up, creating extra car parking spaces.

A minimum of 2,500 car parking spaces will be available at all times, which is enough to cater for all but the very busiest spells.

The walkways will also be rebuilt, which is expected to close the smaller shop units for five days on a rolling basis.

The anchor stores – Sainsbury’s, Asda, M&S and B&Q – will not need to close but entrances and exits will be temporarily altered while their part of the walkway is rebuilt.

Work on the walkways will not be done during peak times including December and early January.

The Castlepoint saga

The problems with Castlepoint’s car park first came to light in May 2003 when reports of falling concrete led to car park spaces being cordoned off.

In December 2005, the car park closed without warning, and the owners said this was due to cracks appearing in the concrete floor and columns.

The shopping centre fully reopened in mid-January 2006 with a temporary fix in place.

In May 2007 David Paine of Standard Life Investments said work on the car park would not start that year.

Constructor Kier tested some possible ideas for the rebuild in June 2008.

Castlepoint’s owners said in 2010 that the rebuild of the car park could be “years away”, due to complex negotiations with the shops and insurance companies.

In April 2011, talks to agree a plan to rebuild the car park were said to be at an ‘advanced stage’.

And in January 2013, agreement was in ‘touching distance’, with the rebuild formally announced in July this year.