Vacant car park no closer to reopening

A HUGE city centre car park which has lain empty for seven years is still no closer to re-opening, it has emerged.

The 600-space facility on Morrison Street, which used robots to park and retrieve vehicles, was bought last January after the previous operator went into receivership in 2003.

It was hoped the facility would reopen within months, but it has now emerged it will take millions to replace ageing technology, with insiders saying there is no hope the car park will open within the next year.

The 5 million Autosafe Sky Park, which allows cars to be "stacked" and takes up only half the space of a traditional multi-storey, was opened in 2001. Just two years later, operator Sky Parks (Edinburgh) Ltd went into receivership.

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One source said the car park had turned out to be a "white elephant" for the new owners and Apcoa, the firm charged with operating the facility.

He said: "Quite frankly, I really don't know what they're going to do with it. The money that's required to get the thing up and running means it's not going to be opened within the next 12 months."

It is understood that the cost of running the robotics had forced administrators to all but close the car park, with just four spaces in the forecourt left.

Demand for parking spaces in the area is now even more acute after work began on the extension of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

The extension is being built on ground which until recently had been used as a car park with space for around 100 cars.

Graham Birse, deputy chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "I don't understand why this car park has not had a change of use. It's a disgrace that it's fallen into a state of disrepair."

Despite complaints about places to park, council figures have shown that off-street car parks with up to 1000 spaces are often two-thirds empty.

No-one from Apcoa was available for comment.