A MULTI-STOREY car park in Southend looks set to be approved...but will mostly serve council staff.

Council planners have recommended a five-storey car park in Victoria Avenue be given the go ahead.

The current car park, beside the Beecroft Gallery, will be demolished to make way for the multi-storey, which will have 334 spaces.

The council is constructing the car park to create spaces for council workers lost with the planned redevelopment of the Civic Centre East council staff car park.

The car park will also generate much-needed additional income for the authority- approximately £40,000 per year according to 2016/17 budget reports.

The council says that currently members of the public do not really use the Civic Centre East car park in any great numbers - whereas it believes shoppers, local businesses and visitors will be more inclined to use the redeveloped and larger one as it is closer to the town centre.

John Lamb, Tory leader of the council, said: “The council announced in January 2016 that capital funds would be allocated to reconstruct the former library car park to provide the potential to redevelop the Civic Centre East car park in due course.

“Rather than replacing the former library car park on a like for like basis, the council agreed that it would increase the capacity to provide more parking spaces in this location which is closer to the town centre than the east car park and also provide staff parking for council workers displaced by future development.”

Mr Lamb added: “If approved, the redeveloped car park will be flexible in terms of its usage, reserving some parking spaces for staff during the weekdays, but which will also be available to public in the evenings and at weekends, with the remainder available for public use.

“It will also generate much needed additional income for the council.”

The car park will have three stair and lift towers which will double as fire exits.

In January 2016 the council announced it would be redeveloping the Civic Centre East staff car park for housing “at some point in the future.”