Metro bosses issue update on vandalised Northumberland Park multi-storey car park closed for more than three months
A vandalised multi-storey car park next to a busy Metro station has partly reopened – but it remains unclear when it will be deemed safe enough to return to normal.
The car park at Northumberland Park Metro station, in North Tyneside, was closed on July 28 because of “completely unacceptable” acts of vandalism in which the glass panels encasing its staircase were smashed.
Because the damage meant that the stairwell was exposed, transport chiefs deemed it unsafe to allow the public to use the 405-space car park.
More than three months later, the ground floor of the site was reopened last Friday, October 31.
However, the upper floors remain off-limits as the stairwell area is yet to be repaired to make it “as resistant as possible” to anti-social behaviour.
Metro operator Nexus told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that it did not yet know how long it would take to restore the commuter park and ride facility to full use.
Stuart Clarke, infrastructure director at Nexus, said: “We have re-opened the ground floor level of the multi-storey car park at Northumberland Park Metro station in North Tyneside. The partial re-opening of this facility came into effect from Friday 31 October.
“We are working with partners to understand how we can open the upper floors in a safe and compliant manner and to ensure it is as resistant as possible to vandals. Further work is required to understand the timescales associated with re-opening these upper floors.
“We understand our customers’ concerns with car parking availability and we are working to resolve this as quickly and effectively as possible. The issue at Northumberland Park has been caused by vandals getting access to the car park and damaging the glass panels which enclose the staircase. This behaviour is completely unacceptable and is spoiling a vital public facility for our customers.
“The damaged panels mean that the stairwells are currently unsafe and therefore have to remain partially closed for now. All incidents of the criminal damage at the facility have been reported to Northumbria Police. Anyone who gets caught vandalising Metro property faces prosecution through the courts, a substantial fine, and even a ban from travelling on the system.”