A satellite image of the new Castle Car Park in Newcastle under Lyme during the construction phase. Credit: Google Earth

‘Barely used’ Newcastle-under-Lyme council car parks to be sold off

15 October 2025 11:15 Mike Sheridan Comments (2)

Several “significantly under-used” town centre car parks are set to be redeveloped for housing, after Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s cabinet agreed to press ahead with sell-off plans last night (14 October).

The council says the opening of a new multi-storey car park on Liverpool Road this year means many of Newcastle’s town centre car parks can now be repurposed for housing development, as part of plans to make the town centre more “vibrant”.

Car parks on Blackfriars Road and Bankside will be sold off, along with part of a larger car park on King Street, where around 60 spaces will be retained.

The decision taken by the council’s cabinet will also kick off a consultation on the disposal of sites in Kidsgrove, with a view to selling off a further two car parks in Heathcote Street for redevelopment.

“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,” said Stephen Sweeney, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Town Centres and Growth.

“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 council says it’s taking a “strategic approach” to managing its assets, to ensure they deliver the best value for residents and businesses.

As part of the proposals, a council-owned garage in Kidsgrove will also be demolished and used as a temporary car park before eventually also being marketed for development.

The proposals follow monitoring of user numbers at these sites, and others near Newcastle town centre, as well as a public consultation which closed in August this year.

“We want our town centre to be as vibrant as possible, day and night, which means having good, safe parking for visitors,” added councillor Sweeney.

“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.”