Final journey for
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Frank
Page 6
News
Fa r n b o r o u g h
Top stories
3 Removal of bus
lanes after trial
hailed a success
4 First council tax
rise in six years
10 Landmark
building starting to
make a statement
24 History traced
by Brown Owl
57 Lucy Shuker
goes Stateside
with form intact
In brief
Man admits taking
keys and vehicle
A FARNBOROUGH man
has admitted robbery and
aggravated vehicle taking
following an incident in
Cove.
Daniel Smith admitted
robbing a woman of her
car keys and her vehicle
in Bridge Road on January
28 when he appeared at
Winchester Crown Court
on Thursday last week.
The 41-year-old, of
Bounty Road,
Farnborough, was re-
manded in custody and
will be sentenced at
Winchester Crown Court
on April 7.
Battle of Britain
Memorial Flight
The Battle of Britain
Memorial Flight has been
confirmed for the line-up
in July at the Farnborough
International Airshow.
This will include a
number of vintage aircraft
including the Spitfire, the
Hurricane, the Lancaster
and the Dakota.
For details and to pur-
chase tickets, visit www.
farnborough.com.
07500556831
info@winsladelandscapes.co.uk
Visit us at facebook.com/winsladelandscapes
Female police chief
may be historic
appointment
W I N
tickets to
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HAMPSHIRE.co.uk
Wednesday 2nd March 2016
No. 8547
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Amazed at ‘secret’ car park
Mysterious parking area, unused for five years and only accessible on foot, will eventually be connected by bridge
by Joshua Smith
joshua.smith@trinitymirror.com
The mystery car park is on
Drivers in Farnborough the roof above the Gym and
were stunned this week after has no vehicular access to
discovering a secret car park
that can only be accessed on it. Inset: An aerial view of the
foot and has been unused for site.
five years.
The existence of the car
park, above The Gym in
Queensmead, has been
widely shared on social me-
dia this week and has sur-
prised many residents.
Parking in the town centre
has long been an issue, with
both Princes Mead shopping
centre and Farnborough
Main railway station facing
reduced parking in the short
term future.
Empress councillor Gareth
Lyon also revealed he had
pushed Rushmoor Borough
Council recently to open an
informal parking consulta-
tion, due to the large num-
bers of people parking in res-
idential areas in the ward.
The mystery rooftop car
park has, in fact, been there
for more than five years –
with absolutely no way to ac-
cess it by car, a council Alistair Wilson AN160813_2
spokesman confirmed on
Friday. where the whole idea would has been, from my two, including a Sainsbury’s St Modwen, the company appraisals, planning and
Construction work on the be that we could get to this perspective.” supermarket, a Travelodge that owns the building, said assessment.
building was completed in car park from a new car park. The borough council has hotel, a JD Wetherspoons the car park had come about On Tuesday, a spokesman
2010 with the residential fit- “The issue for me is they said the only way to access and apartments, now through phasing, adding that for St Modwen said: “The
out taking place between haven’t finished the building the car park is by stairs or a complete. the parking was constructed construction was completed
2011 and 2013. work, putting a car park there lift, which also provides ac- “As part of the planning as part of the development in 2010. There is no vehicle
Images show bays in the and no one can get to it. cess to the rooftop residential permission, parking was pro- block containing Sainsbury’s, access at present but there is
car park have all been paint- “It is more than a decade refuse and cycle storage fa- vided on the roof of block with access planned via the service access.
ed – including disabled bays since they started this work cilities. A statement adds: two. The bridge link to this existing Kingsmead multi- “Plans for the adjacent site
and direction arrows. and my view is that if this car “The redevelopment of north car park will be built as part storey car park. are still under development
Gareth Thomas, 25, from park was finished, it wouldn’t Queensmead is a major re- of a future phase of the devel- It said this area has yet to so we can’t speculate on the
Farnborough, said: “I re- sit there unused on a build- generation project in pro- opment. In the interim, the be developed but would have timescale.”
member seeing plans for the ing where people can’t get to gress in Farnborough town residents’ parking is being a short link bridge to the car  What do you think?
Farnborough Town Centre it. centre. provided by the developer in park. Write a letter to the editor by
development and there was “It’s a symbol of how badly “It is being built in phases, the Kingsmead multistorey Adding the block is still the emailing aldershoteditorial@
an expansion for the car park managed the redevelopment with blocks one and car park.” subject of development trinitymirror.com
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