Stratford District Council refutes ‘filthy’ car park claims
STRATFORD District Council has refuted claims its car park in Bridgeway smells of urine and has blood stains on stairwells.
The former award-winning car park, which was unveiled to great public acclaim in the early 1990s, was highlighted on social media as in need of a “long overdue” clean-up.
“It’s filthy, I don’t think any of the stairways have ever been cleaned,” posted one user. “The one I was going to use had a blood trail down one set of steps, not to mention the smell of wee.
“I was three minutes into a three-hour [stay at a cost of ] £3.90, so surely at these prices SDC could have the place jet-washed.”
Another contributor, Richard Ganjavi, agreed: “We used it last week. It was indeed absolutely repulsive.”
SDC confirmed to the Herald that the site is, indeed jet-washed.
A spokesperson said: “Both Bridgeway Multi-Storey Car Park and Windsor Street Multi-Storey Car Park are cleansed as follows:
“Litter picking and litter bin emptying: Daily (April to September) and twice weekly (October to March),
“Surface sweeping: Quarterly,
“Stairwell washing: Quarterly (April, July, October, January).”
They added: “When there is an ‘incident’ (such as blood, human excrement, needles/sharps), this is cleared almost immediately on discovery or notification.
“As well as these routine cleaning arrangements the parking team keep the stairwells swept at the start of each weekend.
“The next quarterly deep clean/jet-wash is scheduled for 30th September to 1st October.”
The Herald visited the car park and found the stairwells clean and easy to access, no blood or smell of urine, working lifts, and decent lighting.
Cat Cooper, sales assistant with Active Mobility (part of Stratford Shopmobility), which is based at the car park site, said it’s a nice car park.
“I’ve been with Active Mobility at the car park since June,” she said. “Bridgeway is a really nice car park, it’s easy to access and it’s a safe car park for females and vulnerable people and it’s also backed up with CCTV.
“We did have someone pitch a tent outside for a short while but we’ve never had any trouble.
“We have a lot of nice customers and we’re always grateful for any donations when people hire the scooters so we can keep this equipment on the go.”
SDC has also previously come under fire the state of the Windsor Street car park where local residents complain of anti-social behaviour, vandalism and drinkers/drug users in the area.
That car park is due to be demolished as part of the Gateway Project which will allow for a new development of apartments, shops, a hotel and a new Shakespeare attraction.
Bridgeway Car Park was hailed as the way forward in car park design by the Automobile Association which awarded SDC and its car park with a commendation for its safety and access, lighting, proximity to the town and the planting of shrubs and flowers.
