A request has been submitted for the permanent establishment of a Carlisle city centre car park.
Carlisle City Council has received a planning application for the car park next to the Halston Aparthotel on Warwick Road to operate as such permanently.
The car park, which is accessed from Cecil Street and provided parking for the next-door aparthotel, as well as general car parking for the city centre, was granted temporary planning permission in December 2013, with an extension to this temporary permission granted in April 2018, set to expire in 2023.
The application documents submitted to the city council on behalf of Burge Halston Ltd acknowledge that the end of the temporary period is some time away, but said it was increasingly important to The Halston and its future to secure the future of the car park in order to support the aparthotel.
“The car park has become integral not only to The Halston but also to wider car parking in the area and, prior to the pandemic, it benefits from high general usage levels.
“As the car park is already operational, there will be limited physical changes to the existing site in terms of layout, design and use. Landscaping is to be strengthened.
“The car park will continue to be maintained and operated by the applicant.”
The proposal includes the retention of the existing car park, which provides 71 parking spaces.
To provide for an improved aspect and interrelationship with Warwick Road and the wider streetscape, frontage tree planting is proposed to filter views to the car park as well as introducing a more natural element to the location.
“In addition, planting will be undertaken to allow greenery to grow up the wall of the adjacent 42 Warwick Road,” the documents added.
“This will provide an improvement when walking towards the Site from Lowther Street/The Crescent area.”
As a result of the proposed planting, two of the 71 parking spaces would be removed.
“There will be no alterations to the existing access and exit points and payment station arrangements.