Millennium Car Park kicks off £12.5m redevelopment

Plans to knock down St James spire and peace garden to make way for the £12.5million town centre development led to protests from the public more than a year ago.

But as the first phase of the multi-million pound scheme was revealed, customers began to flood into the car park's 267 spaces.

The first customers' car through the gate belonged to David Williams and his wife Myfanwy, from Darwen.

They received a bottle of champagne from general manager Chris Heywood.

The Millennium Car Park is linked to the town centre radio communications network and CCTV, and will be permanently staffed.

It will be fully accessible for disabled people, with dedicated parking bays and lifts to all levels, and will be controlled by a reusable 'smart card' ticket system. This will be a recyclable plastic card containing a computer chip, which will be given out at the entrance and handed back at the exit.

Changes to the road layout also came into operation this morning with the link road at the back of Marks and Spencers closed to traffic, as well as the section of Curzon Street outside Angels.

The existing market car park closed at 6pm yesterday and the demolition of the old stack was beginning today in the second phase of the development.

This is expected to be completed in early 2000 and will include two large stores, let to T J Hughes and Wilkinsons, and a further 218 parking spaces above the shops.

Neil Edwards, managing director of London-based George Watt Ltd, who will manage the car park, said: "I welcome the opportunity to bring the highest standards of public car parking to Burnley.

"It will be an integral part of the Curzon Square redevelopment, will enhance the town's profile and, as the name suggests, will provide a timely boost to town centre shopping."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.