Aim to demolish 100 Hull council garages a year and create parking as occupancy declines

Around 100 council-owned domestic garages across Hull are set to be demolished every year with the land used for off-street parking, a document shows.

A Hull City Council decision record stated it was continuing on with its programme to reduce the number of garages amid dwindling occupancy. Council Housing Portfolio Holder Cllr Paul Drake-Davis said it would allow the underused spaces to be repurposed which would benefit tenants and residents.

It comes as the council has demolished more than 260 blocks with almost 2,000 garages since 2013 when its reduction programme began. There are around 4,000 garages in more than 650 blocks across Hull and the current occupancy rate is less than half.

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There are 57 blocks with 217 garages which are void and are set to be demolished in the next two years. A further 57 blocks with 368 garages have a vacancy level of less than 75 per cent and the council is also set to move towards demolishing them.

The decision record stated they were becoming less popular because of their size and the cost of renting them and using freed-up space for parking would reduce congestion. It added they were costly to maintain and repair as some construction components are no longer available and empty ones can attract antisocial behaviour.

A number of garages are demolished every year after reaching dangerous levels of disrepair and the council open to potential legal claims as a result. The council seeks the consent of property owners when the garage being demolished forms a boundary with them under legal requirements.

The council's contract is worth around £100,000-a-year and is set to last for three years with the option to extend it by up to 12 months. The target is to demolish around 100 garages a year but the contract does not guarantee this. Regeneration Portfolio Holder Cllr Drake-Davis said: "It's important that the programme of garage demolition continues at pace which will allow the council to repurpose these underused spaces."