A new town centre multi-storey car park serving residents, shoppers, workers and visitors was due to welcome motorists for the first time this morning, 24 January.
Castle car park replaces the ageing Midway multi-storey and is located on the Ryecroft site on Liverpool Road in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
The five-storey building, which has 472 spaces, was set to open at 7am and will work on a pay-on-return basis.
The project underpins Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s wider, £30 million redevelopment of the overall Ryecroft site, nearby Astley Place and the old Midway car park.
Councillor 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 It’s clean, modern, safe and well-lit – a major upgrade from the outdated Midway – which will significantly improve people’s town centre experience and support the local economy day and night, both now and in years to come.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.”
The Midway car park closed last night as preparations begin to convert the building into 100 apartments.
The Ryecroft surface car park closed this morning.
Castle car park, which is open 24 hours a day, can be accessed via Ryecroft on the A52 or Church Street.
Parking charges start at £1.20 for up to an hour and go up to £6.60 for up to 24 hours.
More information is available here.
Another expensive white elephant, and thought it was replacing midway because the building was weakening..same excuse used for the ugly expensive nffp replacement civic offices on the queen’s Gardens.