CONTRACTORS are back on site at Castlepoint in a last-ditch bid to resolve the problems that have seen half the car park sealed off.

The 3,000-space car park has been beset with problems ever since the out-of-town shopping centre opened in October 2003 and the entire lower deck has now been cordoned off while investigations are carried out.

David Paine, of Standard Life Investments, operator for the Castlepoint partnership, said they were determined to solve the mystery of why chunks of concrete have been falling from the car park once and for all.

And he said it was too early to rule out demolishing part or all of the car park if the problem could not be easily rectified.

Talking to the Daily Echo yesterday, he dismissed rumours circulating about the state of the car park.

"What we've heard from retailers and others is that there is something wrong with the concrete or that there might be subsidence - those rumours are not correct," he said.

"The concrete is structurally sound. All of the engineers are 110 per cent on this; they're all saying this is not an issue."

But he said the problems do seem to stem from the concrete in the car park not expanding or contracting as it should, leading to pieces breaking away and falling down.

Initially, nets were put up to catch any dislodged concrete and work was carried out to rectify the problem.

But after a further lump of concrete fell from a section of car park outside B&Q last week, bosses at the shopping centre decided to take the precaution of closing the entire lower level.

When asked whether demolition was an option, investments director Mr Paine said: "There's a hell of a lot of effort going into making further investigations on site.

"It would be wrong for me to start speculating on what the answer is until those that are better placed than me come back with their recommendations.

"That (demolition) would be at the extreme end of the scale."

The original contractor for the project, the Kier Group, is back on site trying to get to the bottom of the problem.

When asked who was picking up the cost of this extra work, Mr Paine said: "We're not paying for it."

Yesterday, a spokesperson for Kier said the company had nothing to add to the official statement on the car park closure, reported in the Daily Echo yesterday. This said "every effort consistent with public safety" was being made to re-open the car park as soon as possible.

Mr Paine also confirmed the operator was having weekly meetings with the Castlepoint retailers and would be looking at the issue of paying them compensation.

"We don't want to shut our car park to the public," he said.

A spokesperson for Marks and Spencer said: "We hope the situation is resolved as speedily as possible."

First published: May 11