Thanet council pledges to deep clean stinking Ramsgate multi-storey after plea from mayor

The multi-storey in Leopold Street

A deep clean of Ramsgate’s multi-storey car park in Leopold Street will take place this month.

Next month will also see repainting of the stairwells and railings and an update of the fire doors.

Council deputy leader Ash Ashbee also said the lifts were in need of refurbishment or replacement and talks are taking place with the owners about the work.

She gave the details at a full council meeting last night (September 5) in response to a question from councillor and Ramsgate mayor Raushan Ara.

Raushan Ara

Cllr Ara said: “The harbour multi-storey car park in Ramsgate is in an absolutely filthy state, with graffiti litter, drug use and public urination. The lift is a potential hazard, especially for families with children, or to those with a physical disability.”

Cllr Ara also asked for assurances that, once the work has been completed, an ongoing plan will be put in place to ensure  so the works are not just a ‘quick fix.’

Cllr Ash Ashbee

Cllr Ashbee said there were plans for other improvements in that area and she would be “keeping a watching brief.”

The works come on the heels of numerous complaints, with one resident saying as she walked down the stairwell she witnessed “a woman gagging.and then having to bend in two to actually get out from under the broken gate.”

Others have complained of the stench of urination, discarded needles, blood, sick and faeces,

Free Saturday parking at the multi-storey was axed last year. Ramsgate Town Council had been subsidising it through a payment of £9,000 per year to Thanet council.

But a request for £27000 over two years was rejected by the town council as too much, particularly in the light of slashed budgets.

16 Comments

  1. Well done Cllr Raushan Ara, you set a great example looking after Ramsgate and it’s people, holding operational services to account and convincing them to provide the services people pay for.

  2. As a couple who have come down to Ramsgate every year now, from Scotland, at least 10 yrs, for our summer hols, love the area, and use this multi-storey, have to agree about its condition, I also think the parking charges are a bit steep, and why is it necessary to charge drivers up until 2200hrs to park, when it appears late evening, the cars using this place are tourists staying at local hotels, then charge them again the following morning from 0700hr. Years ago, Sats were free, and you could buy a weekly ticket for your parking, slightly cheaper, not anymore, Staying in Ramsgate for 10 days using this facility, quite hefty parking fees involved. Just back 3 weeks ago, only deciding to stay 7 days, decided try Eastbourne, on journey home, for 3 days, where we got a full days, parking right outside our hotel, seafront, for a £1, per day, loved Eastbourne, it seems parking charges are getting out of control in Thanet, will we return to Ramsgate nxt year, maybe, or might not stay as long, and explore more along South Coast. I did however like Leopald St, for the top levels being locked between 1900hrs till 0700hrs the following morning, obviously theres been trouble at this place before, and when we stayed and tried to pay for parking, on several occsions there were problems with the ticket machines.

    • I’m surprised Ramsgate get any visitors.The cost of parking is beyond a joke,I go every week to do my shopping and it costs me another £4. As a pensioner I can’t afford it so I go to the bigger stores.Is this the reason Ramsgate town centre is in a state.

  3. So why are the council paying for it ,if it’s owned by a company force them to carry out the work saving tax payers money

  4. The lifts smell so badly of urine that we had to take the stairs carrying our baby in his pushchair last time we parked there .

  5. Brilliant news what are the plans to keep it clean and to stop the place being misused day and night ? How are TDC going to stop people urinating, using needles, vomiting, faeces etc. We haven’t enough police to police the area. Perhaps an attendant who only let’s you in with a ticket. That might work in the day at night the attendant would need a bodyguard !. Or perhaps the car park is closed at 6pm.
    I do think its great that the carpark is being cleaned but my worry would be TDC just moving the problem else where, we need to stop the homelessness and drug use not just keep moving them around.

  6. What about the public toilets across Thanet they need a deep clean they are dirty and stink who ever looks after them should be replaced because they do not do the job very well the wall are dirty as well as the floors

  7. Excellent news. To be honest, when driving into town, I tend to scour the streets for a spot and walk rather than go near that car park. But now, maybe I might park there and actually pay!

  8. I am disabled and go to Ramsgate every week and park in the disabled spaces, l get there early because I cannot risk parking upstairs as the lifts have been out of action for an absolute age.

  9. Well done Raushan but please don’t stop there. The whole of Thanet is filthy. The streets are a disgrace with litter everywhere, the waste and recycling service is falling apart and totally failing the taxpaying residents and loads of public litter bins are not emptied. For reasons I couldn’t possibly guess at the Operational Services team never seem to get challenged and told to improve so it is great that elected members are finally getting to grips with this and demand improvements instead of the management team.

    • Thanetian Blind what a ridiculous name! Pity like many others you hide behind a pseudonym and don’t have the guts to publish you real name. Who makes the streets filthy? Not the Council but the two legged morons who dump and drop litter, maybe if your so upset about issues you should start picking some litter up yourself!

  10. Truthes in both previous posts. Yes the public do leave litter and contribute to the general mess, but the bins are usually full, I pick up any litter I see but usually end up taking it home. Cleaners and clearers who are paid are often overwhelmed with muck and rubbish. Some do not do the job properly. We all need to do our bit. Let’s get a bit of pride in Thanet towns.

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