THERE will be restricted access to two of Cirencester’s most popular car park’s while the county council and district council complete refurbishment work.

Due to the county council carrying out resurfacing work on Beeches Road during the week commencing February 9, there will be restricted access to the Beeches car park during the afternoons of  Tuesday, February 10 and on Friday February 13,  which is the day the work is expected to be completed.

The Forum Car Park will be closed on Monday, February 16 for a major refurbishment which is being carried out by the district council and is expected to be complete by the end of March.

During the first two weeks of the work, 70 spaces will be available, with that number increasing as the work goes on.

Improvements to the Forum car park include, relocating its entrance to create better access for vehicles and pedestrians by relocating the entrance, changing the layout and increasing the number of disabled bays.

CDC cabinet member for parking issues, Chris Hancock, said: “We know from public feedback we have received that the changes will be welcomed by many customers. While the improvements are being made, we are aiming to cause as little disruption as possible for motorists who usually use the Forum car park and others in the town. For this reason, we have scheduled the work at a time of year when more parking spaces tend to be available. Nevertheless, the loss of parking spaces at the Forum will inevitably put more pressure on our other car parks during the refurbishment, and we would appreciate any help and support from the public to help us cope with this reduction. He explained that a date for the completion of the work cannot be given because it is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the refurbishment work could uncover historical items of interest to English Heritage, who will be monitoring progress.

 “Once we have refurbished the Forum Car Park, the experience we have gained in managing the temporary reduction in spaces will help us when we continue our extensive refurbishment programme across several car parks in the district."

When the road works are being carried out on Beeches Road, season tickets for Beeches Road will be valid for the Waterloo car park.

Drivers who use the Forum Car Park must remove their vehicles by 6pm on Sunday 15 February to ensure the car park is ready for the improvement work to begin.

The Council will be closing off the entrance to the car park on that day but the exit will remain open.

Other car parks in the town will be available for overnight parking on the 15th, and over 70 spaces at the Forum car park on the morning of the 16th.