Long awaited new car park to open in Dovercourt this week

Tendring Council is using the site of the former Starlings garage and Queens Head Hotel, which burned down a number of years ago, to create a new public space.

Current - The existing Milton Road car park (Image: Steve Brading)

The plans include a 51-space car park, public toilets, and landscaping.

The design would also allow the site to be used as an event space, providing capacity in the town centre for one-off events such as a Christmas market or travelling fair.

The all new car park, known as Orwell Place, will open to people for the first time on Thursday. 

It comes as the Milton Road car park shut on Wednesday.Update - Councillor Ivan Henderson (Image: Newsquest)

Ivan Henderson, Tendring Council deputy leader and cabinet member for economic growth, regeneration and tourism, said the opening of the Orwell Place car park was a positive milestone.

“The Orwell Place car park, on the former Starlings site, will be opening for use on Thursday, and it is great to see how the redevelopment of this once-derelict site has progressed,” Mr Henderson said.

“There are still some final works to be completed before Orwell Place is formally opened and used as an event space, such as pathways and planting, and the end of the project is firmly in sight.

New - Orwell Place car park (Image: Steve Brading)

“As has always been our intention, once Starlings is open we are closing the neighbouring Milton Road car park to allow preparatory works such as surveys to be carried out for our wider regeneration of Dovercourt town centre.

“Our £9million Dovercourt Capital Regeneration Project will deliver several more aspects of the Dovercourt Revisited masterplan – of which the Starlings site was one – bringing skills provision to the heart of the town in a re-vamped library, new housing, and a welcoming street-scape from the station to Marine Parade and around Kingsway; developing further potential brought by Freeport East for the area.”