Four-storey town centre car park set to tumble - but what future the decorative artwork on the pillars?

                                                      

Will the sculpture artwork be lost for ever if car park is demolished?

IT looks like curtains not just for Grimsby's Abbey Walk four-storey car park but also for the  artwork beautifully sculpted into its pillars.

The 427-space structure dates back to 1969 when it was completed by Scunthorpe-based  Holst & Company of Scunthorpe at a cost of approximately £200,000. 

When in May this year, it was closed for safety reasons related to water penetration of the beams and girders, it was hoped that it could re-open after repairs.

But it has since emerged that refurbishment could cost a prohibitive £7-million and take as long as three years.

Other options would be either to demolish the structure and replace it  -  but in sturdier form to withstand the weight of heavy  battery-powered cars - or to build a two-storey replacement.

Instead, the likelihood is that it will be demolished - still not cheap at an estimated cost of up to £2.5-million - and replaced with a ground-level car park.

There is a snag - what do do about the artwork, representing different car parts, created  by former Grimsby Art School teacher Harold Gosney who now lives in York?

These are reckoned to be of  historic as well as artistic interest.

A report to be considered next week by councillors states: "The challenge will be how to remove these artworks without causing damage given the way they are currently part of the external structure of the car park. 

"While options will be considered, there is a risk that it would not be safe or financially viable to remove the artwork. 

"Due to their size and weight, it may also be challenging to find a future display location."