Plans submitted to bring more parking and transform the Civic Centre

Carlisle City Council submitted two applications for the alterations to planning chiefs last week.

The first of the proposals - which refers to restoring the Civic Centre following the floods - contains the following:

• Construction of a new entrance lobby along the western elevation of the Civic Centre;
• Improvements to the external space between the western elevation of the Civic Centre and Rickergate;
• Installation of an air conditioning unit on the roof of the two-storey civic suite, including the installation of a barriered walkway to the system to allow maintenance;
• Internal refurbishments to the ground floor building;
• Alterations of elevations, including: blocking up the existing entrance; removal of windows and wall panels below and installation of full height windows along the western elevation; removal and filling-in of the existing fire door on the north elevation; and removal and filling-in of a pair of double doors and two windows on the eastern elevation.

The second application is to demolish the Rotunda part of the Civic Centre - the annex which houses the council chamber - and build an extra 43 car spaces in its place.

This would bring the total number of car parking spaces - if approved - to 106. Included in the plans are seven additional disabled access spaces.

The ground floor of the Civic Centre was flooded in 2015, leading to the area being closed and boarded up. Since then a number of temporary portacabins have been added to the site to provide the lost floor space.

The construction of the car park extension will include the removal of three trees.

Pedestrian access will be maintained via Rickergate.

The application to demolish the Rotunda states: “The existing rotunda section of the building is currently used for civic meetings and conferences; however, it is no longer fit-for-purpose for use as a modern, multi-functional civic space.”