Repairs to Whitstable’s largest car park are set to drag on into next winter – missing Southern Water’s target of finishing the work by summer time.

The Gorrell Tank, in Westgate Terrace, was closed last April after some of the tank’s supporting columns were found to have corroded.

Owners Southern Water laid out a plan of repair in June but – after discussions with the contractor involved – have decided to spilt the work into two phases.

The first stage is set to be complete before next summer, when the car park is set to fully reopen, but it will then close again in winter time for the work to be finished permanently.

Kim Foster, a member of Whitstable’s chamber of commerce, spoke of his disappointment at last Wednesday’s Whitstable Area Member Panel (WAMP) meeting.

He said: “We met a number of councillors with Southern Water in June and at that meeting they indicated that they would be starting work in early September.

“I have been in continual communication and I was very disappointed to hear that the meeting they have had the contractor last week threw up a number of other issues.

“They came back and said they will not be able to start it until November at the earliest and may only be able to do a temporary repair, not permanent.”

The water firm-owned car park has remained only partially opened since last July.

Mr Foster, who owns Copperfields in the High Street, added: “I am sure the councillors who went to that meeting will be as disappointed as I am to hear that 19 months on we will don’t have anything definitive from Southern Water.

“They are looking at options of breaking up the whole surface to do repairs and then resurface the car park.

“I think I am really just saying that we are disappointed with Southern Water’s response.

“I would ask you to keep helping us and keep the pressure on Southern Water to get this matter dealt with as soon as possible.

“I think it’s disappointing that from the June 23 to where we are now, there’s nothing set up and agreed.”

SOUTHERN WATER COMMENT

Southern Water spokesman Sam Underwood said: “Our contractor is currently working on the planning stage of the project and work is expected to start on site in early November.

“However, in order to guarantee the car park is fully reopened in time for next summer, we are looking at the possibility of splitting the work into two stages.

“The first stage would be to remove the hundreds of tons of silt and debris from the closed section of the tank and to carry out an inspection and any temporary repairs to allow it to reopen before the summer. The second stage would be to return next winter to complete the full, permanent repair.

“We have already discussed this potential change of plan with the Whitstable chamber of commerce and local politicians and underlined to them that it is driven by the desire to minimise disruption and keep our promise to fully reopen the car park in time for the busy summer season.

“This option is one of a number currently being assessed by our contractor as they look to find a way to complete the full repair as efficiently as possible.

“We expect to have a final decision on the best way forward with this challenging project in a fortnight and will update the community as soon as we can.”