Fareham Borough Council has set a date for tearing down the “outdated and underused” Osborn Road multi-storey car park.

Demolition crews are scheduled to begin work to tear the car park down on January 8.

The car park will be closed to the public from January 2 to allow the team and equipment to be relocated.

The site will then be handed over to the contractors, Neilcott Construction Ltd.

Fareham council has said that the Osborn Road multi-storey car park will be replaced with a new surface car park with larger parking spaces.

The new car park will have four electric vehicle charging points, with the capacity to add a further 12 if required.

Cllr Sean Woodward, Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council, said: “It is important that we do not close the Osborn Road multi-storey ahead of or during the busy Christmas period.

“However, the New Year is the perfect opportunity to say goodbye to this underutilised car park which has served us well over the last 50 years but is now well beyond economic repair.”

The new Fareham Live car park will open in time for the first big performances at Fareham Live in 2024.

The work has been scheduled for the early New Year so that shoppers are not affected during the busy Christmas period.

It is also a time when most residents will have their doors and windows firmly closed, so any disruption will be minimised.

In the meantime, residents are reminded that the Fareham Shopping Centre multi-storey car park is still available and leads directly into the shopping centre.

Cllr Woodward added: “I will be pleased to see a much more practical and attractive surface car park in 2024, in line with the opening of our new arts and entertainment venue Fareham Live, when we will have many hundreds of spaces within a couple of minutes’ walk of the new venue and the shopping centre.”