COLCHESTER Council is surrendering its lease for a long-stay town centre car park with hundreds of spaces tomorrow.

The council has decided to end the lease it has to operate 214 spaces at Middleborough car park as a public facility.

It is understood Commercial Estates Group Limited, which owns the car park, is in the process of managing a £1 million refurbishment of the car park.

Earlier this week the council removed its payment machines for the car park.

It took the decision to surrender the tenancy for a number of reasons, including the increased costs associated with maintenance, the reduction in use seen in recent years, and the impact Covid 19 may have on future need for long-stay commuter parking.

The small number of parking permit and season ticket holders for Middleborough car park have already been notified of the changes and been offered alternative parking provision.

The car park will continue to operate privately for businesses based at the Octagon.