Car Park Renovation Award: The Plaza Multi-Storey Car Park, Wokingham

British Parking Awards 2024

Located in the heart of Wokingham Town Centre, The Plaza Shopping Centre is a fully let mixed-use retail and leisure development. The busy retail quarter is home to a large Nuffield Health and Wellbeing Gym, several restaurants, office accommodation and six residential flats.

The variety of uses at The Plaza Shopping Centre sees its multi-storey car park serve all members of the local community including visitors, residents, business owners and employees. Across five levels, the car park provides direct access into the development as well as the bustling town centre. Spaces are also available with permit parking for residents.

In high demand, The Plaza Shopping Centre’s car park was in urgent need of renovation to ensure it could continue to meet the needs of the local community and businesses. Constant traffic and exposure to the elements had caused many stresses and problems, exacerbated by a failing waterproofing system throughout the structure. This was having a detrimental impact on the car park’s appearance, functionality and safety.

The environment was dark and unwelcoming with delamination prevalent throughout the entire structure. The top two decks, which served the gym, were heavily degraded and corroded with potholes creating health and safety risks. Water ingress was also plaguing the levels below. These issues required the car park’s roof deck, inter-decks, and the main entrance and exit ramp to undergo significant repairs and improvements.

Adding to the challenge, a £1.7m renovation had to be carried out while the car park remained open, requiring meticulous planning and collaboration to minimise any potential disruption.

Aviva Life and Pensions UK commissioned property agent Colliers International to oversee the refurbishment. Cemplas Waterproofing & Concrete Repairs was appointed as renovation contractor, using WestWood Liquid Technologies products.

On the car park’s 3,330 square metres roof deck, the failing waterproofing system was stripped back using specialist ‘ride on’ planing machinery designed for use in muti-storey car parks. To suppress noise and dust, the plant was fitted with water drums that dampened down the deck and silencers to reduce noise, and the works were coordinated to minimise disruption to the shopping centre trade and local residents.

The preparation method ensured the existing coating could be fully removed without damaging the concrete roof slab. The process exposed a significant volume of concrete repairs, partially chloride driven, due to the failure of the existing membrane. Concrete defects were also identified on the internal decks, soffits, columns and walls throughout the structure, leading to more than 25 tonnes of defective concrete being broken out. These challenges were discovered across the whole car park and the same solutions implemented.

Once the defective concrete and coatings were removed, they were taken from the roof deck to a secure site compound area and carefully managed. Dedicated skips ensured the concrete could be separated for recycling and the coatings did not mix with recyclable materials.

Following the preparation of the concrete slab, the defective concrete areas were reinstated using specialist repair mortars. To add longevity to these defective areas and address corrosion concerns, sacrificial anodes were installed to the reinforcement.

Prior to installing the waterproofing system, trials were carried out to test the adhesion of the existing and repaired concrete substrate. This identified significant outgassing likely caused by trapped moisture and air in the existing concrete matrix.

An ultra-low viscosity substrate stabiliser from WestWood Liquid Technologies was used to seal the concrete slab, eliminating the outgassing problem at source and the risk of pin holes through the decking. Westwood’s crack-bridging waterproofing system, wearing layer with quartz sand broadcast, and coloured sealer coats were then applied to the entire roof deck.

To address substantial ponding and remove standing water across the top deck, Cemplas also installed new drainage outlets at low points.

The waterproofing of the top deck eliminated water ingress allowing Cemplas to begin work on enhancing the lower levels. Concrete repairs and resin injection crack repairs were carried out followed by the application of anti-carbonation paint coatings.

Rigorous cross hatch testing was undertaken, followed by sample areas of adhesion enhancing primers to ensure a strong bond between the existing paint coating and new anti-carbonation coatings. These coatings protect the structure from the underside while the waterproofing system protects from the top.

The inter-decks received resin deck coating enhancements, addressing numerous defects in the existing waterproofing and achieving slip-resistance requirements.

The lower car park deck, serving as the roof to The Plaza Shopping Centre, comprised ageing asphalt which was repaired and overcoated with a WestWood liquid waterproofing system. A comprehensive electrical package added to the project providing a new lighting scheme throughout the car park and the internal stairwells.

Featuring new LEDs and motion sensors, the lights optimise safety and energy efficiency.

To further enhance the car park’s appearance and make it more user-friendly, Cemplas relined every parking space, redecorated the internal stairwells to brighten the space, and installed a new floor finish to the lift lobbies. Ensuring fire and DDA compliance, windows and doors were overhauled, and nosings added to the stairs.

A waterproofing solution was provided for the main entrance and exit ramp, using a buried WestWood liquid waterproofing system finished with a tarmac wearing layer. The failing and blistering asphalt was removed and taken off site for recycling. The concrete substrate was repaired and levelled using a rapid setting repair system to speed up the process.

Cemplas kept the car park operational throughout the works by introducing a highways authority approved traffic management system from the main road into the multi-storey car park. This created a safe and efficient one-way system so vehicles could enter on one side of the ramp.

It was critical that these areas were completed promptly and returned to use within the two-week period granted by the local highways authority.

Cemplas worked closely with its supply chain, The Plaza Shopping Centre’s management team, car park operator, and local businesses to ensure the project was delivered smoothly. Close liaison with gym owners Nuffield Health was particularly important as a certain number of car parking spaces had to remain in use for its members across the two severely damaged top decks.

Cemplas liaised daily with the car park operator and sent weekly progress updates to local businesses to keep them informed of the programme and check for any concerns so these could be promptly addressed. For each phase of the works, Cemplas provided a traffic management plan showing routes for all
plant manoeuvres during the work, which were supervised by a Banksman. Closures were kept to a minimum to avoid  inconvenience.

Winner’s words

Mike Wood (Cemplas): “We did a great job of refurbishing the multi-storey car park of the Plaza Shopping Centre car park in Wokingham. We installed a new lighting scheme and a fully new waterproofing using WestWood Technologies.”

The British Parking Awards

Created and presented by Parking Review magazine, the British Parking Awards are an independent competition. The awards recognise the leading examples of car park management, enforcement, design and team work.

The British Parking Awards 2024 ceremony took place at the Royal Lancaster London on 13 September.

Read and download the 2025 WINNERS EDITION of PARKING REVIEW by clicking HERE

To find out more about the competition and next year’s event check out the official website.
www.britishparkingawards.uk