Drivers using one of Exeter’s main city centre car parks have been warned not to leave their cars there as demolition work goes on next door – or they won’t be able to get them out again!.
The car park is to close for four days as work continues on knocking down a derelict shopping mall. A distinctive ‘stained glass’ footbridge will be one of the components coming down as part of the overall demolition.
The Harlequins Shopping Centre in Paul Street is being knocked down to make way for a major new housing development.
The Guildhall car park will have to close from June 30 until July 3 to allow the demolition work to continue. In a social media post the management of the Guildhall centre warned that any car left in the car park overnight before the start of the closure cannot be released until the car opens again four days later.
The demolition of the shopping centre has already begun, and recent images posted online by so-called urban explorers show a 1980s-style ‘ghost town’ of derelict shops.
The complex is being cleared to make way for a large-scale co-living residential development being built by developer Curlew.
Two buildings standing six and seven storeys tall will house 383 co-living studio apartments. The complex will feature shared kitchens, co-working spaces, a gym, a cinema, and a games zone, according to the planning application submitted.
A pedestrian bridge over Paul Street will be replaced as part of the new development.
The scheme has faced local opposition as well as changes forced on it by the financial climate. A hotel originally planned for the site was axed in late 2021 and replaced with additional co-living spaces.
Last year the developer successfully argued that incorporating the stipulated 20 per cent affordable key-worker housing was no longer financially viable due to rising construction costs, higher interest rates and falling property values
The project has also been complicated by its proximity to the city’s historic walls. Access to the historic City Wall walkway directly behind the site is being temporarily restricted or marshalled while heavy machinery operates nearby.
Eventually the developer will widen the northern Paul Street pavements, install a lightweight modern footbridge and create a ‘pocket park’ and link to the historic walls.
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