Parking bays at Westmorland Shopping Centre car park in Kendal are to be widened in a relining project beginning on Monday 28 September. Westmorland and Furness Council says the work will create more practical spaces for modern vehicles, following feedback from customers who found the existing bays too narrow.
The improvements are expected to be completed by late October. During the project, motorists will still be able to reach all floors that remain open, but the work will temporarily close sections of the multi-storey car park as crews move through the building.
How the Kendal car park work will affect access
Work will begin on Level 7 before progressing downwards one floor at a time. Level 7 will be closed while the work is under way. Other open floors will remain accessible, with the active work areas marked off using cones.
All disabled parking bays will remain available throughout the project because they are not affected by the temporary closures. However, the revised arrangement will reduce the overall number of parking spaces at Westmorland Shopping Centre car park.
The council said the reduction in capacity would be balanced by a review of its own car parks and their usage. The aim is to free up additional visitor and resident parking in Kendal town centre while the shopping-centre project is completed.
Why the parking bays are being changed
Standard bay widths will increase from 2.4 metres to 2.6 metres. Some spaces positioned between structural pillars will be widened to more than 3 metres where the available space permits.
The council said the changes respond directly to customer feedback about the difficulty of parking many of today’s vehicles in the existing spaces. Although fewer bays will be available overall, the new layout is intended to provide a more user-friendly experience for motorists.
The relining project follows an earlier upgrade to lighting throughout the car park. Energy-efficient LED lighting was installed to improve visibility, customer safety and the overall visitor experience.
Westmorland and Furness Council said the work forms part of its continuing commitment to maintaining and investing in its assets. Temporary closures will be limited to the areas being worked on, with the next stages dependent on the floor-by-floor progression of the project.
