SHOPPERS say they are absolutely disgusted that all three lifts in Crowngate shopping centre have been out of order for so long.

The lifts in the shopping centre allow customers to access the multi-story car park. All three of the lifts have been out of order for months with two of them being broken since 2019.

One mum says the centre is so inaccessible her daughter who is in a wheelchair was unable to complete their shopping trip.

Carla Jayne Stokes said: "I took my daughter into Worcester yesterday in a Wheelchair. Parked in Crowngate shopping centre and no lifts working. So unable to get her into the shopping centre due to all three lifts not working. Unable to use disabled toilet due to access. It didn’t get any better lift in House of Frazer out of order! So unable to get her around the ladies Fashion wear! Worcester was so stressful to go shopping we returned home."

Another disgruntled resident, Vonnie Carter, said the Worcester is 'atrocious.'

She said: "Disabled access and awareness in Worcester is atrocious! I haven’t been shopping in town for almost two years now. The Crowngate lifts have been out of action for a long time now and last time I went so were the escalators! No thought is ever given to accessibility?"

We asked The Crown Estate, who own the shopping centre, when the lifts would be back in order.

A spokesman said: "We are currently carrying out repairs to lifts at Crowngate Shopping Centre

"Whilst these lift works are being carried out, we have put in place a number of measures including:

  • A drop-off/pick-up point on Level 2 of the car park, where there are 25 disabled parking bays and 11 accessible parking bays
  • Opening a lift on Level 6 of the car park, which takes customers directly to the retail floor. This is accessible via the Shopmobility parking, where there are a further 12 disabled parking bays.
  • During peak hours, we have a member of the security team stationed on the entry to the car park to advise customers on the best location for them to park based on their requirements.

"We apologise for the inconvenience caused, and we will continue to keep all visitors updated via our website, social media channels and signage throughout."

Last year we asked Crowngate Manager Michael Lloyd what was wrong with the lifts.

He told The Worcester News: "They’re old and knackered to be honest, I know it is a pain for members of the public and I would love to be able to tell them that they will be fixed and when, but it isn’t as easy as that.

“We aren’t putting it off, we are working behind the scenes to get the lifts back up and running; but it costs £100,000 per lift and we haven’t yet established a deal with suppliers.

“It is all in hand, although we can’t yet give you a fixed timeframe we are trying our best to sort out the issues.”