Newcastle venues fear damage to local businesses if Free Parking scheme is axed
Newcastle City Council are consulting on plans to end free parking in the evenings in Council car parks across the city
Some businesses in Newcastle say they're concerned that an end to free parking in the evenings could see them crumble.
Newcastle City Council is consulting on plans to extend all parking charges in the core city centre to 10pm every night – including putting an end to the Alive After Five offer in the Eldon Square, Eldon Garden, Dean Street, Oxford Street, and Grainger Town multi-storey car parks.
City bosses say that the changes are designed to “manage and respond to changing demand” for spaces, as well as being part of a drive to discourage car journeys and cut down on air pollution.
But it's feared that venues, restaurants and bars - who rely on evening trade - will lose out on customers who can't afford to pay for parking on top of an evening out.
Mike Tilley, director of the Newcastle Arts Centre on Westgate Road, fears that the major change could be disastrous for businesses that rely on evening trade – particularly the city centre’s collection of cultural and creative institutions.
Mr Tilley warned that Alive After Five, which was launched in 2010 in a bid to bring in more visitors of an evening, had become “a vital support for evening shopping, entertainment and hospitality” and that ending the free parking offer could deter people from coming to see a show or exhibition.
He said: “Newcastle city should be welcoming people and trade to this regional centre not creating barriers to access and strangling existing business which is its lifeblood. The widely acknowledged business success of the ‘Alive After Five’ off-peak free parking scheme is to be scrapped at the cost of a loss of trade that will far exceed the forecast income from parking charges."
All on-street car parking spaces in the city centre would also be subject to charges until 10pm under the council’s plans. The Quayside and Manors multi-storeys, both also part of Alive After Five, would instead be free after 6pm under the changes, while 6pm will also remain the cut-off time for fees at the Claremont Road car park near the Royal Victoria Infirmary.
A £3 all-day rate on Sundays would also be axed in the city centre, with drivers having to pay the standard weekday rates instead.
Full details of the scheme can be found at letstalknewcastle.co.uk, where city residents have until April 13 to make comments.
When the proposals first came to light last November, city centre business chief Stephen Patterson said they were “not designed to reduce support for businesses, quite the contrary, this is about delivering a better experience and supporting the retail and business community to create the right environment for long-term growth”.
A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: “We are currently consulting on proposals for the introduction of evening and Sunday charges in council-run car parks. The proposals are to help us manage and respond to changing demand for car parking in the city centre. This consultation closes on 13 April. Any objections will be considered before a final decision is made.”