Modern car park signals new era for town centre

Published: 22 January 2025

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, Newcastle town centre, Castle car park, Newcastle Town Deal, economic regeneration, opening, launch, Midway, Ryecroft, regeneration, redevelopment, parking
Cllr. Stephen Sweeney, Cabinet member for Finance, Town Centres and Growth, outside the new Castle Car Park.

A new car park in Newcastle town centre is opening to serve residents, shoppers, workers and visitors – both now and well into the future.

Castle car park – which replaces the ageing Midway – opens its doors to the public for the first time at 7am on Friday, 24 January and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

The modern five-storey building, based on part of the Ryecroft site on Liverpool Road, includes 472 spaces – including 19 for motorcycles – and 39 electric vehicle charging points which will be fully operational from next week. Other amenities include automated main doors, energy-efficient lighting, 22 disability spaces on lower levels and lifts and ramps enabling full accessibility. The variable stay, pay-on-return car park is surrounded by trees and hedgerows, boosting the biodiversity of the area.

On a practical level, motorists can easily enter and exit the car park via Ryecroft on the A52 – coming from the Jubilee2 roundabout initially – or Church Street. People leaving using the Church Street route will first turn into Corporation Street, followed by Merrial Street. New machines continue to accept cash and card payments. More information, including parking charges, is available on the borough council’s website.

The transformative project underpins Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s wider, once-in-a-generation £30 million redevelopment of the overall Ryecroft site, nearby Astley Place and the old Midway car park – led by social impact developers Capital & Centric on behalf of the council – thanks to investment from the previous Government’s Town Deal and Future High Streets Fund following authority-led bids.

Cllr. Stephen Sweeney, Cabinet member for Finance, Town Centres and Growth, said:

I’m pleased that Castle Car Park is opening. It’s clean, modern, safe and well-lit – a major upgrade from the outdated Midway – which will significantly improve people’s town centre experience and support the local economy day and night, both now and in years to come.

 

But this is more than just a car park; it’s a vital addition to help secure Newcastle town centre’s future sustainability as a thriving place for everyone. Providing enhanced infrastructure like this underpins the council’s current regeneration which will draw different groups of people into the area.”

New affordable housing is planned for the remaining section of Ryecroft and work has started to thoughtfully remodel Astley Place into modern accommodation and retail space, with attractive public open spaces between the Ironmarket and Merrial Street, which will enable better connectivity between a redeveloped Ryecroft and the High Street.

The Midway closes at 7pm on Thursday, 23 January as preparations begin to convert the building into 100 apartments, including a stunning three-floor atrium. Meanwhile, the Ryecroft surface car park closes at 6am on Friday, 24 January.