St Mary's and St John's car parks will get a deep clean

Colchester Council will be scrubbing down the St Mary’s and St John’s car parks in the town centre.

Both car parks have seen a total of 767,002 vehicles parked during 2018.

Work will begin to clean the stone and brick, alongside graffiti and chewing gum removal next Tuesday in St John’s car park and on Tuesday March 25 in St Mary’s car park.

The cleaning will take about six days.

Both car parks will remain open throughout the work and disruption will be kept to a minimum. However, there will be a reduction in spaces whilst the cleaning take place and drivers are asked not to leave their vehicles in St John’s car park overnight.

A five-stage deep cleaning process will be used to transform the car park surfaces, which includes treatment to remove the deep-rooted stains such as oil.

Water pressure washers will also be used to remove the build-up of dirt and mud from the walls.

Mike Lilley (Lab), councillor responsible for planning, public safety and licensing, said: “First impressions count and while people don’t consciously notice a clean car park, they definitely notice a dirty one. “A total of 767,002 visitors a year creates a lot of wear and tear, and it’s time they received some TLC.

“By giving our multi-storey car parks a deep clean, followed by regular cleaning from our zones team, we hope customers will feel more confident about leaving their cars for extended periods of time, enabling them to make the most of the fantastic shopping, cultural and dining opportunities Colchester has to offer - helping to create a Better Colchester.”