Mayorhold multi-storey is closed for good after a survey found corrosion across the building. Its 1,073 spaces were a quarter of the town's council total.
Mayorhold multi-storey car park in Northampton will not reopen. West Northamptonshire Council confirmed on Friday that it is closed permanently, after a structural survey found corrosion spread through the building.
The car park shut on 20 July, when crumbling concrete was found on one of its internal posts. At the time the council said it was closed until further notice and that it would decide whether to reopen it once further surveys had been done. Those surveys have now settled it.
What the survey found
The council’s release sets out what the structural survey showed:
- the corrosion behind the crumbling concrete “will likely increase”, with “a risk of further incidents”
- the corrosion is “not confined to a specific location”
- the ground floor and the access ramps would need repairs before the building could safely reopen
- there is “no guarantee” other parts of the building would not need similar repairs later
The building is more than 50 years old. The council says it has “reached the end of its useful life”.
Why the council will not fix it
Mayorhold was already due to come down. The council’s July release said it was earmarked for demolition next year as part of the Greyfriars regeneration, the plan for the largest brownfield site in the town. Spending on repairs now would mean paying to fix a building with months left to run.
Cllr John Slope, the council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “With the building due for demolition as part of the wider Greyfriars redevelopment work, it does not make financial sense for us to invest in lengthy and costly repairs on a car park that was already due to be closed permanently.”
He also said “the car park was significantly under-utilised on a daily basis”. The release gives no occupancy figures to back that up, and the council has not published any that we can find.
Neither release gives a demolition date beyond July’s “next year”.
How big a loss it is
Mayorhold is the largest car park the council runs in Northampton. Its own town car parks page still lists it, marked “closed until further notice”, with 1,073 spaces, 18 disabled bays and 15 parent and child bays.
That page lists 18 council car parks in the town with 4,050 spaces between them. Mayorhold alone was just over a quarter of that total. On top of it, about 160 spaces at Upper Mounts and 36 at Newlands have been out of use since 1 September for Greyfriars archaeology, which the council expects to finish by the end of October. We set out that squeeze in a third of town centre spaces out from 1 September.
The alternatives the council names
The release points former users to four car parks: Grosvenor, St Michael’s, Wellington Street and Newlands. They are not equal. Two are big multi-storeys. The other two are small surface car parks, and one of them charges a premium for long stays.
| Car park | Spaces | Weekday long stay | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayorhold (closed) | 1,073 | £8.80 all day | Pay on foot, 2 metre height limit |
| Grosvenor multi-storey | 810 | £8.80 all day | Pay on foot, 1.9 metre height limit, opening hours on site notices |
| St Michael's multi-storey | 464 | £6.60 all day | Pay on foot, 2.1 metre height limit, 6am to midnight |
| Newlands | 59 | £8.80 all day | 36 spaces out of use until the end of October |
| Wellington Street | 37 | £7 for 5 hours, £13.40 for 6, £19.80 for 7 | Premium rate after 5 hours, 1.8 metre height limit |
The four together hold 1,370 spaces. In practice almost all of that is Grosvenor and St Michael’s, which have 1,274 between them. Newlands is down to about 23 working spaces until the archaeology finishes.
Wellington Street is the one to be careful with. Seven hours there costs £19.80, more than twice Mayorhold’s all-day £8.80, because the tariff jumps after five hours.
What it means for you
- If you parked at Mayorhold for work, St Michael’s is the cheaper switch at £6.60 all day. Grosvenor costs the same as Mayorhold did, £8.80.
- If you drive a high van or a car with a roof box, check the limits. Grosvenor is 1.9 metres, lower than Mayorhold’s 2 metres. St Michael’s is 2.1 metres.
- If you need a disabled bay, Grosvenor has the most, with 32. St Michael’s has 8.
- Do not leave a car at Wellington Street for a working day unless you are happy to pay £19.80 for seven hours.
- If you held a Mayorhold season ticket, the release does not say what happens to it. The council’s parking team is on 01604 526732, the general assistance number on its car parks page.
- At weekends, Grosvenor and St Michael’s both charge £3 for any stay up to 6pm.
All the town centre tariffs are in parking in Northampton, and current closures are on our roadworks and travel page.
Sources
- Mayorhold car park to close permanently, West Northamptonshire Council, 2 October 2026.
- Decision to close Mayorhold car park, West Northamptonshire Council, 20 July 2026.
- Council car parks in Northampton Town, West Northamptonshire Council, read 3 October 2026, for spaces, tariffs, height limits and bays.
- Archaeological investigations at Upper Mounts and Newlands car parks, West Northamptonshire Council.
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