Housing plan for town centre brownfield sites
Small, under-used town centre car parks will be sold off for housing, if plans are approved.
Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is committed to using brownfield sites for housing where possible and wants to use surplus car parks in Newcastle and Kidsgrove.
The authority’s long term plan included provision for selling some sites after the opening of the town centre Castle car park earlier this year.
Stephen Sweeney, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Town Centres and Growth, said:
We are taking a strategic approach to managing our land and assets to ensure they deliver the best value for residents and businesses.
Many of these car parks are significantly underused, and in some cases, they are next to land that could be better used for development or community benefit.”
The proposals include the disposal of little-used car parks at Blackfriars Road, part of King Street, and Garden Street/Bankside in Newcastle.
The Council also plans to demolish the former Browns Service Garage in Kidsgrove and use the site as a temporary car park, while other improvement work is carried out in the town centre, before eventually selling the site.
Also in Kidsgrove, there are currently 74 spaces in four small car parks on King Street and Heathcote Street. It’s intended that 57 spaces will remain on the ‘bottom’ two car parks on King Street, while the other two are sold off.
The proposals follow consultation and monitoring of user numbers at these sites, and others near Newcastle town centre.
Stephen Sweeney said:
We’ve listened to the feedback from residents and businesses, and we’ll continue to engage with them as these proposals move forward.
It was always the intention that once open the multi-storey Castle car park would reduce the need for some, but not all, the town centre parking sites.
We want our town centre to be as vibrant as possible, day and night, which means having good, safe parking for visitors.
At the same time, we have committed to including as many brownfield sites as possible in our draft Local Plan as potential locations for new homes and businesses, thereby reducing demand for greenfield areas.”