Resurfacing hits Festival Hall on 27 August, Swan Street on 1 September and Central from 3 September. That covers 787 of the 844 council spaces in Petersfield.
Resurfacing work reaches Petersfield’s town centre car parks this week. East Hampshire District Council says contractors move into the Festival Hall car park on Thursday 27 August, then Swan Street on Tuesday 1 September and Central on Thursday 3 September.
The three sites hold 787 of the 844 spaces the council lists in Petersfield. Only Castle Yard, with 57, is untouched.
The work is part of a £100,000 improvement scheme covering five car parks in Petersfield and Alton. The council says it involves resurfacing and maintenance “to keep the car parks safe and smart”. Contractors Rocon started at Turk Street in Alton on Monday 24 August.
The schedule, car park by car park
The council’s dates are weather permitting. Space counts come from the council’s own car parks and bays list for August 2026.
| Car park | Town | Dates | Spaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turk Street | Alton | Mon 24 and Tue 25 August | 163 |
| Lady Place | Alton | Tue 25 to Thu 27 August | 183 |
| Festival Hall | Petersfield | Thu 27 and Fri 28 August | 212 |
| Swan Street | Petersfield | Tue 1 to Thu 3 September | 157 |
| Central | Petersfield | Thu 3 to Fri 11 September | 418 |
Central is the long job. The council has allowed seven working days for it, against two or three at each of the other four. It is also the district’s largest car park, with 418 spaces, 18 disabled bays and two coach bays.
Across all five car parks the scheme touches 1,133 spaces, which works out at about £88 a space.
Nothing is scheduled for the bank holiday on Monday 31 August. The last day before the break is Friday 28 August at Festival Hall, and work restarts at Swan Street on Tuesday 1 September.
What the council has not said
The press release does not say whether any car park closes outright. It says only that “safety and traffic management measures will be in place while the work is being carried out, to reduce the impact on car park users and surrounding properties”. No figure has been published for how many bays are out of use at any one time.
That matters most at Central between 3 and 11 September, because it is the car park nearest the town centre and it is short stay only, capped at three hours. Check the notice boards on the day before you commit to a space.
What it means for you
If you normally use Festival Hall, the two days to plan around are Thursday 27 and Friday 28 August. Festival Hall is the cheapest long stay in Petersfield at £5.80 for nine hours and £9.00 all day, against £9.00 and £10.20 at Castle Yard and Swan Street, so switching is not free.
- Thu 27 and Fri 28 August: Festival Hall affected. Castle Yard and Swan Street are the alternatives for a long stay.
- Tue 1 to Thu 3 September: Swan Street affected. Festival Hall is back and is the cheaper of the two remaining long stays.
- Thu 3 to Fri 11 September: Central affected. For a short stay, The Causeway charges the same £2.10 for two hours and £2.90 for three.
One quirk worth knowing before Sunday 30 August: Castle Yard and Festival Hall are free on Sundays, while Swan Street charges its full weekday tariff and Central charges £2.10 or £2.90. All the 2026 tariffs are in the council’s off-street parking places variation order, and we list them in full on our Petersfield roadworks and travel page.
A small discrepancy is worth flagging. The Causeway car park appears in the council’s charging order but not in its August 2026 list of car parks and bays, so there is no published space count for it.
Cllr Tony Costigan, the council’s portfolio holder for property, said car parks are “the main gateway into our towns” and that money raised from parking charges in Alton and Petersfield should be spent maintaining them. He said the improvement programme will be extended to other towns and villages in the district.
None of this affects the station. Petersfield station car park is a separate system with its own 154 spaces and its own charges, which we set out on our Petersfield train times page.
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