Efforts to save a popular Wokingham town-centre car park are being ramped up after councillors met to discuss the site’s options.

Denmark Street car park closed at midnight on Monday, August 26, after landowners’ plans to build 77 flats on the site were refused by Wokingham Borough Council (WBC).

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Town councillor Daniel Hinton met with Wokingham Borough Council leader John Halsall last week to discuss the options available for re-opening the site.

Cllr Hinton told the News: “We went through some of the issues residents had – some with mobility issues are struggling to get anywhere in the town.

“WBC has been in contact with the landlord and they’re now discussing options and taking legal advice.

“John Halsall assured us they are doing everything they can to keep the car park open.

“It was a positive meeting”.

Should the car park re-open, Cllr Hinton suggested this could happen in one of three ways.

He proposed either WBC leases the car park, WBC buys it through a compulsory purchase order, or a third party car park management company takes over the running.

READ MORE: Denmark Street car park closes

As Cllr Hinton was talking to the News, he received an email from a third-party car parking company enquiring about the site.

Although, the town councillor told the News he would rather WBC bought the site so it could be turned into an “asset that brought in money for the council.”

A petition set up by Cllr Hinton to save Denmark Street car park has now reached more than 3,000 signatures.

Speaking about the response to the petition, Cllr Hinton said: “We have already gone past our wildest dreams.

“We are going to push for 5,000 – if we could get to that sort of number we would be really amazed.

“The businesses have been amazing, they’ve gone above and beyond to collect signatures for us.

“It is a huge asset for the town and it could really affect the business in the town centre, so the last thing we want to do is lose car parking.”

The petition, which can be viewed here, is set to be presented to Wokingham Borough Council at a full council meeting on Thursday, September 19.

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Cllr John Halsall added: “I think the basic objective of the council is to try to keep Denmark Street open – we are looking at our options.”