A Darlington car park will temporarily close after it was revealed that the town's Wilko store will shut its doors later this week.

East Street car park, above Wilko in the town centre, will close this Sunday (September 24) for a week.

The decision was taken after Wilko announced its Darlington store would shut for the final time on Sunday, September 24.

Read more: Date set for final six closing Wilko stores in North East

The car park will close while work is carried out to secure the lifts which are inside the store and so will not be able to be used once the shop closes.

Signage will also be put up to make sure visitors are aware that the only pedestrian access will be by the stairs.

The car park will reopen Monday, October 2, but there will be no lift access.

There are still hundreds of on-street and car park spaces available across the town centre which are fully accessible.

The nearest long-stay car parks are:

  • Kendrew Street and Kendrew Street East (off Gladstone Street) - £4 a day or £16 weekly ticket
  • Chestnut Street (off Valley Street) - £2 per day or £8 weekly ticket
  • Garden Street (off Dobbin Road) - £4 per day or £16 weekly ticket

Councillor Libby McCollom, cabinet member for resources, said: “Sadly we have no choice but to close the lifts to the car park as they are inside Wilko so can’t be accessed when the shop is shut.

"This means, for the time being, the only pedestrian access will be by the stairs. “We will look at more long-term solutions and in the meantime, there are still lots of car parks and on-street car spaces around the town centre including dedicated spaces for blue badge holders."