A WORCESTER city centre car park will not be turned into a multi-storey because the project is considered not financially viable.

Worcester City Council has performed a U-turn over the plan for King Street, Sidbury, and decided the 100-space car park will stay as it is.

Concerns had been raised by the Labour group that a multi-storey car park would spoil views of the cathedral.

Now, the Tory-controlled council has decided to scrap the idea after expert advice arguing it should not tamper with the site.

It is thought the initial cost in providing extra multi-storey spaces would be too great to justify expansion.

As the Worcester News reported last year, the Guildhall has spent £25,000 on a special study into parking in the city.

The ongoing review is an attempt to discover the best way of providing more spaces.

Leader Councillor Simon Geraghty said: "Having completed a financial appraisal of the costs and potential income, we have found that it does not make business sense to go ahead with a multi-storey car park at King Street.

"King Street car park is in a very important location, it's in the cathedral setting, and I've always said we would have to look at it sensitively.

"I want people to know we have taken a look at it, and we won't be taking it forward - there is no chance of us turning it into a multi-storey."

The cabinet discussed the financial implications of King Street in a closed doors session at the Guildhall because it does not want to reveal the value of the land.

The council previously considered building an underground car park but scrapped that idea too because of cost.

A part-time consultant started working on the review earlier this year.

The consultant will now investigate if anything can be done to change other car parks in Worcester to make more room, which could mean new layouts to squeeze extra cars into the same space.

It is not expected to finish until later in the year.

Coun Paul Denham, deputy leader of the Labour group, said: "We are against spending any money on an attempt to increase parking, and we were always against the idea of turning King Street multi-storey, because of the cathedral setting."

Last year the council made £3.2 million from car parking charges.