Castle Car Park’s opening paves way for town centre change
The opening of Castle Car Park will be the catalyst for a series of improvements in the centre of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
The clean, safe, well-lit multi-storey delivered by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council will provide parking day and night for visitors and include EV charging points for visitors.
As well as meeting demand for town centre parking spaces, the opening of the 455-space site will allow the transformation of the outdated Midway car park into 100 apartments, and the sale, or partial sale, of some of the smaller ‘surface’ car parks for housing.
Stephen Sweeney, Deputy Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Cabinet member for Finance, Town Centres and Growth, said:
Town centre parking provision is vital to residents, businesses and visitors and plays an integral part in Newcastle-under-Lyme’s vibrancy and ongoing regeneration.
Therefore, it’s important that we have a carefully considered management strategy which can evolve to reflect changing needs, innovation and support town centre regeneration.
The arrival of Castle Car Park in the heart of the town centre will not only provide a safe, well-lit option for use day and night, it will allow us to evolve what we provide and potentially free land to be used for housing – which eases demand elsewhere.”
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s Cabinet is considering an update to its 10-year parking strategy for parking provision in the town, which reflects the latest developments, regeneration plans and the needs of residents, businesses and visitors.
Car park machines will continue to accept cash, as well as payment by card and app.
Free parking will continue on five ‘event’ days each year, usually connected with the festive period, and the ‘£1 after 1pm’ offer, which was introduced during the pandemic, will continue on Cherry, Corporation, Goose, Hassall, King, Silverdale, and Windsor Car Parks but will be reviewed in the short term to ensure that the offer continues to attract visitors to the town centre.
Given the demand for space, the ‘£1 after 1pm’ offer at School Street and Barracks Road car parks will end at 7.59pm and then there will be a new £1 charge at those two sites from 8pm.
The strategy also aims to maximise development opportunities for homebuilding on ‘brownfield’ sites to meet housing targets in the Local Plan, rather than building on green belt.
Sites that may be sold entirely include Blackfriars, Cherry Orchard, and Bankside/Well Street, while there is also the possibility of selling parts of, but not all of, Hassell Street, Goose Street and King Street car parks, where public car parking spaces will continue to be provided to cater for customers of local businesses.