WORK is taking place to improve the state of a temporary car park described as a “mudbath” thanks to the combination of overuse and wintry weather – however users say the situation is getting worse.

A massive area of the busy car park at Montem Leisure Centre, in Montem Lane, Slough, was cordoned off on Tuesday, January 17 to make way for a temporary ice rink while Slough Ice Arena is being refurbished.

Slough Borough Council compensated for the reduction in spaces by designating a large green space on the site, which has inevitably become a mud bath in the wintry weather.

Slough Observer:

The mess also revealed an obvious problem of overcrowding; with no controls in place to regulate who parks there and for how long, and council employees parking there when they cannot find a space at their headquarters across the road.

On January 31, SBC began work to mitigate the mud problem but in the process were forced to cordon off the 125-space green patch, causing yet more chaos.

One furious user, who asked not to be named, said: “There are lines of cars queueing past a sea of mud and huge reversing lorries in the desperate hope of finding somewhere to park. You have to see it to believe it.”

SBC say they are installing improved drainage so surface water flows away and more matted hard plastic surfacing and bonded gravel for cars to park on top of.

The council has also laid tarmac in the corridors between the parking bays.

The leisure centre user added: “We were told to brace ourselves for two days of inconvenience as work was going to be done to improve the disgusting state of the mud bank we are expected to use as a car park.

“The work started last week and was as disruptive and chaotic as we expected.”

A spokesman for SBC said they hope the work to improve the state of the Montem Lane site will be complete by “early next week”.