Council changes direction in its evening car park charge policy
FEES STILL TO BE PAID BUT FROM LATER IN EVENING
TRANSPORT chiefs have scaled back plans to axe free evening parking in Newcastle city centre.
It emerged last year that Newcastle City Council was bidding to axe the Alive After Five offer that has made car parking in city centre multi-storeys free after 5pm since 2010, sparking hundreds of objections and fears about a potential drop in trade for culture and hospitality venues.
Proposals to “respond to changing demand” and cut air pollution would have seen fees extended to 10pm at the Eldon Square, Eldon Garden, Dean Street, Oxford Street, and Grainger Town multistorey car parks, as well as for all on-street spaces in the core city centre. But it has now been confirmed the council will instead opt for a compromise option – with free parking from 7pm.
The local authority announced that the extended charges will be imposed “in the coming weeks once the council has completed the statutory processes and updated signage across all car parks”, probably by August.
Labour councillor Jane Byrne, cabinet member responsible for transport, said: “We’ve listened to the feedback from the public, and looked again at how we can better manage parking in the city centre and still create a greener and more sustainable city, which works for everyone.
“This means balancing the needs of lots of competing demands, including changes to how people shop and businesses operate since the pandemic, and we believe that these changes will help us achieve the right balance.”
There were 650 objections to the council’s 10pm proposal and 25 letters of support.
The Newcastle Arts Centre on Westgate Road had called the scheme “absurdly destructive” to venues that rely on evening trade, while public transport users had called for free bus or Metro travel to be introduced as a replacement.
Further concerns raised included the financial impact on low-paid city centre workers who would be forced to pay new daily charges and potential parking congestion, and pollution, being pushed to neighbourhoods surrounding the city centre.
The council’s decision will mean parking charges will apply until 7pm for all council-run multi-storey car parks, surface car parks, and on-street bays in the core city centre. And on Sundays, drivers will pay a standard hourly rate, rather than the current £3 all day fixed charge.
Parking fees outside the core city centre area will not be hit by these changes, with the exception of Manors and Quayside multistoreys that will see charges extended by an hour to 6pm.