A temporary car park for 96 vehicles is set to be created on the site of the former Ipswich police station which is currently being demolished.

The site is owned by the borough council, and its executive is next week expected to approve the creation of a temporary park for up to five years.

The timescale is aimed at tying in with the temporary permission that has already been granted for a temporary park on the site of the former Civic Centre.

The borough is expected to make a formal planning application for the temporary park in the early months of next year – it is keen to get it up and running by the time the Crown Car Park is closed for rebuilding.

The report says that added to the surface car park on the former Civic Centre site, the existing surface car parks and the underground spiral park that is to be refurbished by its owners Charterhouse LLP as part of the “Theatre Square” project, this park will increase the number of spaces in that part of town to more than 600.

The cost of the conversion work is put at £500,000 – but this will be paid back over the five year period with a surplus of £20,000 a year from the cost of parking.

If it is open beyond the five-year period, it will earn the council a revenue of about £125,000 a year – but if it does remain open after that time it would require further planning permission.