Councillors have approved a planning application for a new car park in Newcastle town centre.

It comes after the project was given the go ahead by bosses at Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council earlier this month.

The new Castle Car Park – which will be accessed from Liverpool Road – is designed to be a replacement for the Midway car park, which will be demolished once the new one is completed.

It will provide 450 parking spaces and cost around £11 million to build.

The new car park will have 39 electric vehicle charging spaces and 11 disability spaces – and is due to open in May 2024.

Cllr Richard Gordon (Lab) raised concerns about the lack of detail provided about the internal layout of the new car park, with implications for cleanliness and security.

Construction will begin in August and is expected to be completed by May 2024 (Image supplied).

He said: "We don't know the internal workings of the car park – will our sweepers be able to go in and clean it? That was one of the failures of the Midway car park.

"The machines couldn't get in to clean the corners, and over the years it deteriorated and got really filthy.

"And the antisocial in that corner of the town, with the courts there, is well known. It's well-documented by the police and by residents.

"We haven't seen any security. Is there going to be a full time operative there? What cameras are going to go there to deter people from antisocial behaviour? Will there be 24/7 surveillance?"

Officers confirmed that Staffordshire Police had discussed concerns about security, but that additional information shared with the police had reassured them about its operation.

Labour group leader Cllr Dave Jones also raised concerns about the car park's layout.

He said he was worried about how tight the entry and exit lanes might be once parking bays are occupied.

Concerns have already been raised regarding the car park's security and layout (Image supplied).

He said: "My concern is, if there are quite a lot of vehicles entering or exiting at the same time, it's going to create issues.

"It doesn't seem clear to me that it's a smart way of handling the movement of vehicles in and out of the car park.

"I feel we'll be dealing with concerns from users of the car park for the life of the building.

"If it's difficult to get in and out of that car park at peak times people won't park there and they'll find alternative parking."

Nevertheless, he praised the number of electric vehicle charging points being provided and the tree planting proposed as part of the scheme.

Despite these concerns, councillors on the authority's planning committee voted to approve the plans, with Cllr Jones abstaining.

Construction will begin in August, and is due to be finished by May 2024.

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