A car park user in Orpington with mobility issues has struggled for seven months after the lifts stopped working - making the car park “unsafe” and “inaccessible.” 

Ellie Drake, who previously used Orpington War Memorial Car Park to park in for work, began facing issues with the car park lifts in July last year.

The 42-year-old, who currently requires the use of crutches due to bursitis, told the News Shopper that the some car park users have been struggling to use it since the two lifts broke.

The building is owned by Tesco and the car park managed by Horizon and the Orpington War Memorial Car Park can be accessed by stairs or by two lifts, both of which are out of order.

Ellie said: “There’s been problems with the lifts for a while, but in July last year both lifts just stopped working and they haven't been fixed since then, at all. 

"We've reached out to different people to find out why but there’s always a different answer on who is responsible for them.”

Ellie explained that her limited mobility has left her with no alternative but to walk down the ramp that cars use to drive up, due to not being able to use the stairs, and she says that others have had to do the same.

Ellie said: “You must go up the stairs to get to that car park, there's no other way to access them, and there's no way into Tesco from those floors either.

“So, you don't have any other option other than to use the stairs to go up and down, or use the ramp that you drive up, which is really unsafe.

“People, including myself, have been doing that since July last year and are still having to pay to park up there.

“You could be coming around the corner and a car could be driving up the other way."

Parking at Orpington War Memorial Car Park costs more than £6 a day for 12 hours or £12 for 24 hours.

On parking websites Horizon and Parkopedia there is no specific notice advising would-be parkers that the lifts are out of order.

Ellie said: “I think the thing that's frustrating is that for the public, when you go on the website for the car park, it says that there's disabled access up there.

“So, you can drive all the way up there, get yourself out of the car, pay for your parking and then find that there's no actual physical access to get down to the ground floor.”

Since July, the car park has had some reviews from unsatisfied customers on the Horizon website with one reviewer commenting: “the lift was out of order but didn’t let you know until you were already there.” 

Since Christmas Ellie has resorted to using an alternative car park for work - as she also claims the Memorial Car Park has become “unsafe” in recent months with an increase in rough sleepers in the car park.

Ellie said: “Over the course of the Christmas period and the cold period, homeless people have just started setting up camp in there.

“And it just feels even more unsafe, because you never know whether you're going to open the door and find someone sleeping on the floor.

“It’s not their fault that they're homeless, but at the same time there’s litter everywhere and it’s not being cleaned.”

Ellie claimed that she, along with other car park users, have spoken to management at Tesco and Horizon staff in person to seek confirmation of when the lifts may be fixed, however she claimed that they were not given an answer as to when the repairs would take place.

Ellie said: “We spoke to the manager at Tesco because we've been told by Horizon that it was Tesco's responsibility.

“And then when you speak to the Horizon team, they say its Tesco’s because they physically own the building.

“So, it’s just not clear.”

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We’re working to resolve the issues with two of the customer lifts in the car park at our Orpington Extra store as soon as possible and thank shoppers for their patience.”

We have contacted Horizon for comment.