Motorists are being warned to avoid parking their vehicles in one of Exeter’s main city centre car parks as it prepares to close while a nearby shopping centre is demolished. Guildhall Car Park will close for four days while the derelict Harlequins Shopping Centre is demolished to make way for a major new housing development.

The Harlequins Shopping Centre in Paul Street, an ‘American’ style mall, which boasted 32 retail units and has stood since 1987, will be knocked down amid plans for a large-scale co-living development. The Guildhall car park will have to close from June 30 until July 3 to allow the demolition work to continue. In a social media post, the management of the Guildhall centre warned that any cars left in the car park overnight before the closure begins cannot be released until the car park reopens.

The distinctive stained-glass footbridge over Paul Street will be one of the components coming down as part of the overall demolition, but it is set to be replaced as part of the new development.

The work has already begun, with recent images shared online depicting the complex as a 1980s-style “ghost town” of derelict shops, East Devon News reported.

The complex is being cleared to make way for a large-scale co-living residential development being built by developer Curlew. Two buildings, six and seven storeys tall, will house 383 studios and flats. The complex will feature shared kitchens, co-working spaces, a gym, a cinema and a games zone, according to the planning application submitted.

Last year, the developer successfully argued that incorporating the stipulated 20 per cent affordable key-worker housing was no longer financially viable due to rising construction costs, higher interest rates and falling property values

It was announced in 2018 that Harlequins shopping centre would be shutting, having been a central feature of the major Devon city for over three decades. Since the closure in September 2019, many of the businesses that were once there have relocated, some to other parts of Exeter and others further afield in Devon. Some decided to bow out completely.

The project has also been complicated by its proximity to the city’s historic walls. Access to the historic City Wall walkway directly behind the site is being temporarily restricted or marshalled while heavy machinery operates nearby. Eventually, the plan is to widen the northern Paul Street pavements, install a lightweight modern footbridge and create a “pocket park” and link to the historic walls.

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