Parking strategy

Town Centres 

North Tyneside has four main town centres. Three of these, North Shields, Wallsend and Whitley Bay, are historic town centres with a wide range of uses such as retail, services and other businesses as well as many residential properties. Killingworth town centre was constructed more recently than the other town centres and is focussed mainly on retail uses and served by large privately owned car parks with no significant on-street parking. The regeneration strategy ‘An Ambition for North Tyneside’ and the Our North Tyneside Plan set out ambitious plans for the regeneration of the three historic town centres and the North West of the borough, which includes Killingworth.

In the three historic town centres, off-street parking is available in both Council managed and commercial car parks, and a substantial proportion of parking is in on-street bays, often on partially or wholly residential streets. Disabled parking is provided by the Council within both off-street and on-street parking provision.

Surveys suggest that there is sufficient parking provision for residents, shoppers and visitors in three main town centres through the mixture of parking facilities provided.

The Authority offers free parking in the off-road parking facilities that it manages, and demand at these sites regularly exceeds availability. Use of the privately managed car parks is generally below full capacity and there is a heavy reliance on the availability of on-street provision, which, in some locations, contributes to traffic congestion in the town centre.

The pricing structure for on-street parking in the commercial core of each town centre is set so as to encourage higher turnover (predominately ‘short stay’) in these locations to support the vitality of these areas. A different parking tariff applies on 5 streets on the outskirts of the commercial core (‘medium stay’), which helps to accommodate drivers who wish to park for longer.

Other district and local centres 

Other district and local centres within the borough such as Tynemouth, Longbenton, Forest Hall and Monkseaton are served by both on- and off-street parking. Each has its own unique characteristics and these need to be taken into consideration in the process of managing parking. 

Residential areas 

Many residential properties in the borough have their own off-street parking. On-street parking is available in many residential streets. In some areas which experience specific pressures on parking demand, residential parking permit zones are in place. Streets which are largely residential may also include shops and businesses, whose needs are also considered in the design of parking schemes.

Foreshore 

The Authority is investing heavily in North Tyneside’s seafront to make it a vibrant and popular area, and we want to continue to encourage a steady turnover of people to come into the area to support tourism, our local businesses and keep the economy buoyant. The Foreshore is served by public transport and cycling and walking routes, however at some locations on certain days the demand for parking exceeds the availability, hence an efficient parking management strategy has to be employed to optimise the available parking space to meet the competing demand.

To offer improved flexibility, the Authority offers the option of payment by mobile phone at all of its car parking facilities. Since 2021 there has been no additional cost for paying by this means, although some further optional services, such as notifications when expiry time approaches, are offered for a nominal charge which goes to the external software provider.

Pay and display machines which accept card payments only have been introduced in all of the charged car parks along the Foreshore to improve efficiency and combat regular instances of theft and vandalism. Owing to the popularity of the technology, card payment only machines will be introduced in the charged on-street parking locations along the Foreshore on a phased basis during 2022 to 2024. 

A flexible parking approach is in place along the Foreshore which means that drivers who pay for parking at one facility can also use the other parking facilities along the Foreshore. A flexible permit for parking at the Foreshore is also available: these permits are not specific to a particular vehicle (hence can be used by any member of a household, club or society) and, to reflect seasonal demand, are available for six months or a year.