Council silently reopened car park in Northampton town centre for just three weeks before closing it again…

Doddridge Street Car Park was silently reopened by West Northants Council for just three weeks before it was mysteriously closed again.Doddridge Street Car Park was silently opened by WNC on July 10 before closing again on July 31At the time, the council said ‘it’s an exciting time for one of the key gateways into Northampton’.However, at the end of July it was believed to still be sitting empty so this newspaper asked WNC for an update. On Monday July 27 a spokesperson for WNC told the Chron that a survey and remediation works had taken ‘longer than expected’, that the potential reopening of the car park had been considered and will ‘continue to be assessed against the delivery timetable’.WNC added: “However, the council’s focus remains on progressing this significant regeneration programme, which will help transform this area of Northampton and bring long-term benefits to residents, businesses and visitors.”However, when the Chron visited the site – next to Sol Central – on July 30 it was clear that the car park had reopened with a small number of vehicles parked in it.The Chron asked WNC for further clarification as to when and why the car park reopened. A spokesperson told us on August 3: “Doddridge Street car park was initially closed in March 2026 but changes to the timescale for work starting on site mean we have been able to reopen it temporarily this summer until investigation works start in late September.“However we have closed the car park to put up new signage relating to parking charges. We expect it to reopen at the end of the week when it will then be available for all motorists to use until it closes permanently for redevelopment work in late September.”Further checks have now revealed that the car park reopened on July 10 and temporarily closed again on July 31 to allow updated tariff signage to be installed.No public communication has been issued by WNC about the reopening and reclosing of Doddridge. At the time of publication the second car park reopening date had not been revealed. Continue Reading