Brutalist car park could become urban neighbourhood

The car park could become 100 apartments

Plans to turn a 1960s-designed car park into a "contemporary urban neighbourhood" have been put forward.

Midway car park in Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire, could become 100 one, two and three-bed apartments plus social hub with a gym and mini-cinema, developer Capital&Centric said.

It is part of three sites being floated with the borough council for redevelopment to "re-boot" town centre spaces using £35m of government Future High Street funding.

John Moffat, from Capital&Centric, said the "bold and radical" plans brought much- needed homes in a prime town centre spot.

The firm has submitted plans to the authority, saying the project aimed to give brutalist concrete structures a new lease of life while saving a load of embodied carbon within them.

Under proposals for the Midway, there would also be bike storage spaces and car parking as well as landscaping underneath a three-floor atrium.

Councillor Simon Tagg, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council leader, said signs of regeneration were coming through.

“The ageing and outdated Midway will soon be redundant with the opening of Castle car park and this exciting proposal avoids wasteful demolition and allows new housing to spring up on a prominent town centre brownfield site.

“Castle car park will provide a clean, safe car park for the whole town centre.

"Along with the regeneration of the Ryecroft and York Place with homes, shops and open space, we are beginning to see the visible signs of our multi-million regeneration.”