CALLS are being made for shopping units to be built on car parks in Worcester in a money making drive.

The imaginative vision could see sites like Sidbury's King Street car park include mini 'retail hubs' to boost the economy and reduce the need for harsh council cuts.

Cllr Roger Knight, a former mayor of Worcester, says the idea should be examined under the city council's ongoing 'car parking review'.

The Worcester News can reveal how the suggestion is being taken seriously by senior officers at the council, who are being tasked with finding new ideas to get money.

We revealed last week how all 14 council-owned car parks in the city have been placed 'under review', with a report saying some could be sold to developers.

But Cllr Knight says bosses need to keep the assets and see if any can accommodate retail – either on an additional level above the parking, or on ground level with the possibility of spaces being created on the rooftop.

Just one or two such developments on council car parks would attract big sums in business rates, as well as improve Worcester's retail scene.

Cllr Knight said: "I don't want our 'crown jewels' to be sold off and if there's a form of development we could allow that would mean we can still keep all our car parks, we should look at it.

"King Street is just an example but if you look at it, you could have some shops facing Sidbury with car parking spaces behind.

"If you had an open rooftop you could even have rooftop parking."

He also raised his idea during a meeting of the performance, management and budget scrutiny committee at the Guildhall this week, saying it needs investigating.

"The argument at King Street used to be that you'd block out views of the cathedral, but the flats have already done that," he said.

Marc Dorfman, a deputy director at the council, said: "We want to keep the same number of spaces but seek opportunities for our car parks where we can, so the idea you're suggesting for King Street is something that should be explored."

He added: "We've got a successful city – how do we grow the success of Worcester and grow investment in the city, that's where we are approaching this from."

During the debate Cllr Simon Geraghty, a former city council leader, said retaining the current number of parking spaces is "paramount" and warned against "multi-storeys" springing up around Worcester.

The council has 2,438 parking spaces in the city spread across prime pieces of land like St Martin's Gate, Croft Road and the Cornmarket.

The city's Labour leadership is backing the officer's project, on the grounds that if any changes are made to car parks the overall number of spaces will remain the same.