Town centre car park could be scrapped

Plans to remove or substantially reduce a town centre car park in Hinckley and transform it into a green space are being put forward.

It's part of the High Street Heritage Action Zone Project which will work on the areas around Castle Street to improve access for pedestrians. 

Church Walk Car Park is among the most central to the town centre and has 82 standard spaces bays, seven disabled bays, one motorcycle bay and three reserved bays as well as a turning and loading area for town centre shops.

Three options are being outlined for consideration by local people. The consultation ends on Friday 1st October. 

You can review all the plans and have your say here. 

Option 1: Remove car park - 4 disabled spaces 

Remove existing car park and replace with a green space with direct pedestrian walkway from Argents Mead to Castle Street. 
4 disabled spaces retained, no other car parking. 

Option 2: Half car park - 32 spaces and picnic area and turning and loading area

The car park will become reduced in size by more than 50 percent from 87 spaces in total to 32 spaces including disabled spaces. There will be a green planted picnic area but the loading and turning area for vehicles will be maintained. 

Option 3: Car park - 50 spaces retained with tables and turning and loading area

A slightly larger car park than option 2 with 50 spaces in total. There will be a green planted picnic area but the loading and turning area for vehicles will be maintained and a direct walkway from Argents Mead to Castle Street. 

The plans have been developed after Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council carried out a survey in April 2021 to understand how people used the town centre. The survey concluded that:

• Hinckley has a number of valued assets including a rich and long history, a full events programme and Argents Mead - a high quality central green space. And, there was a desire to see these assets ‘opened up’ and celebrated.
• In line with national trends, most respondents felt the town-centre was at risk of decline as shopping habits change. 
• There was significant support for addressing the fragmentation of the town-centre including reconnecting some of the town’s key assets for example through improved signage and interpretation and reimagining the Church Walk car park area.