The top floor of a closed town centre car park could be torn off in a last-ditch effort to reopen the site, council bosses have revealed.

Ashford's 300-space Park Mall car park has been shut since August after repairs to remove stalactites from the ceiling failed.

But now owner Ashford Borough Council (ABC) is considering removing the first storey to create one ground-level open-air facility.

Council bosses told KentOnline in December how they wanted to avoid a "sticking plaster" solution at the site, which has been hit by vandalism in recent years.

Dripping stalactites made the floor slippery and damaged a number of cars when ABC briefly reopened the car park in the summer, forcing bosses to shut the site.

“Following previous issues with stalactites on the structure we are considering the possibility of removing the roof so we can use the ground floor as a car park," a spokesman said.

"We are currently undertaking structural and viability work to see if this could be achievable.”

Town centre business owners have told KentOnline how they welcome the news, but hope it happens “sooner rather than later”.

Footfall in Park Mall shopping centre has fallen since Wilko, which occupied the site’s largest unit, closed in September.

Rita Bhandari, who has worked at Divine Beauty in Park Mall for 12 years, said: “If people can park there, more people will come through to us.

“The car parks at the other end of town are not helpful for us down here so I think it will be a good idea to knock it down if it means we can have the bottom floor.

“I have definitely noticed a difference since the car park shut; Wilko closing hasn't helped too.

“Even if we were not busy before, we could see people walking past, but now it is really quiet.

“Our regular customers still come here which is nice but some people don't know the area so they don't know to come here.”

Justyna Deidda, who runs Italian restaurant Amici in North Street, says her customers struggle to find a place to park.

“Since the car park permanently shut, we have noticed a difference, especially at lunch times,” she said.

“I think the price of parking and the lack of spaces are putting people off.

“Even if opening the bottom floor only gives an extra few spaces, it makes a huge difference for small businesses.

“The sooner they get it open the better, but there should be the choice for people to use coins too because not everyone can use the apps on their phones.”

Vince Monticelli, who runs The Record Store in Park Mall, believes the move could be a “positive step” that could “help massively”.

“There is no passing trade anymore and no one can park outside,” Mr Monticelli said.

“If you have to park at the other end of town, people won't want to walk all the way over to Park Mall unless they are coming here for a reason.

“Opening it would also help staff who also struggle to park.”

ABC would lose 260 spaces as a result of removing the first storey, but would regain 40 spots by reopening the ground level.

Shopper Denise Veryard, from Boxley in South Ashford, says removing the top floor would improve the look of the car park.

“We like it in Park Mall because after being in the busy town, coming here is more quiet and relaxing,” the 69-year-old said.

“People always used to stick to the top floor of the car park because it was more open, the bottom was always dark so it didn't always feel safe.

“If they do knock it down, it could make it more light on the bottom floor which could be good, but it would be better if there were more spaces.”

ABC has long harboured ambitions to convert Park Mall into a residential development.

The authority, which has owned the site since 2015, said last year how its plans could be fast-tracked following the collapse of Wilko, but it is yet to reveal any timescales.

At a strategic delivery board meeting in November, councillors were told how the site is seen as a “catalyst for wider redevelopment and regeneration of the town centre”.

ABC officer Shaun Meyer told members: “The current shopping centre is facing significant challenges with increasing voids (including the recent departure of Wilko) and increasing maintenance issues.

“The council has held a long-term [plan] to redevelop Park Mall and this has been included within its corporate plan.

“This project is in its early stages and redevelopment proposals will be shared in the coming year.”

It is not clear when construction will start on the scheme, but council leader Cllr Noel Ovenden (Ashford Independents) told KentOnline last year that it won’t begin before 2025 “unless anything dramatically changes before then”.

Park Mall car park has not been fully operational since before September 2021, when former operator NCP closed the facility with just 32 hours notice.

The top floor was permanently blocked off last March after being constantly blighted by anti-social behaviour.

Last year, ABC closed the top floor of the neighbouring Edinburgh Road car park amid “ongoing vandalism and anti-social behaviour” issues.

The level was hit by a number of incidents which the authority said was becoming too costly to continually clean up.