Newcastle's council-run car parks to increase charges

Prices at Eldon Square's car park will rise by 20p per hour from April

The cost of car parking in Newcastle will rise in April after approval from city transport bosses.

Hourly charges at council-run car parks within the city centre Clean Air Zone (CAZ), including Eldon Square and Dean Street, and for all on-street parking bays across Newcastle will rise by 20p.

There will be a 10p per hour increase at car parks outside the CAZ.

Newcastle City Council said the move would generate an extra £1m per year for the Labour-led authority.

The move follows similar rises last April.

'Strike a balance'

At car parks offering a fixed daily rate, with the exception of Kingston Park and the Manors multi-storey, there will be a £1 increase in that tariff - the most expensive of which is at Eldon Garden in the city centre, where a day's parking will cost £13.

Although they are not within the CAZ, the council said it would also increase charges at the busy Paddy Freeman and Castle Farm car parks by 20p per hour in an effort to deter people from using them when visiting the nearby Freeman Hospital.

Fees will be reduced is the Garage multi-storey car park at the Newcastle Helix development, which will see a 20p drop in its hourly rate.

A £9 all-day tariff will also be introduced there, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Labour councillor Marion Williams, who holds the transport portfolio in the council's cabinet, said charges were reviewed each year "to ensure that we are effectively managing the demand for spaces and the flow of traffic, particularly around our busier city centre car parks".

She added the April rises would help the council "strike a balance" between providing sufficient parking spaces and "encouraging the use of more active and sustainable travel".