REVEALED: Newcastle’s Top 10 WORST Streets to Park On

There’s no doubt about it; Newcastle’s city centre is becoming increasingly pedestrianised. In many ways, this can only be a good thing – despite pedestrianisation changes being put on hold for Blackett Street, changes to the layout of Grey’s Street have helped make the city centre a more pleasant and safe place for cyclists and walkers alike.

However, with the road layout changes and the introduction of a new clean air zone designed to reduce polluting road traffic in the city centre, it’s becoming easier for motorists to fall foul of the law. With fewer on-street parking spaces, data from Newcastle City Council reveals an increase in on-street parking fines over the last two years – there was a whopping 64,536 tickets issued for on-street parking in 2022.

Here we reveal the 10 worst streets to park on in Newcastle.

1. Richardson Road – 1,141 parking tickets

Topping the list of the roads with the most parking tickets issued in 2022 is Richardson Road. Running alongside the RVI, Richardson Road has paid on-street parking – which admittedly always seems to be full. Now, you should always pay for your parking where required, but we can’t help but feel a little sympathy for those who’ve been caught out whilst rushing to the hospital.

3.Nun Street – 991 parking tickets

One of the more surprising inclusions in the top 10 was Nun Street, which saw almost 1,000 parking tickets issued in 2022. Despite being a city centre location, adjacent to Grainger Street, Nun Street is the shortest street on this list (just 115 metres long), making its short distance one of the city’s hottest areas for traffic wardens.

4. Carliol Square – 961 parking tickets

Another town centre location that has been ripe for the ticket pickings in 2022, Carliol Square is home to a youth hostel, Flat Caps Café and clubbing institution World Headquarters. Carliol Square also lies adjacent to a major building work taking place next to Swan House roundabout – which could explain the street’s position at number four in this list.

5. Andrew’s Street – 857 parking tickets

Located just across the street from St. James’ Park, it’s little surprise that St. Andrew’s Street has been a hotspot for in-a-rush motorists amongst the furore of matchday. However, it’s also clearly a key spot for traffic wardens, who’ve dished out 857 tickets on this street in 2022.

6. Clayton Street – 851 parking tickets

Another city centre location, Clayton Street ranked second on the list for the year ending April 2022 – so whilst it’s nice to see a decrease in the number of tickets issued since then, it’s a shame that drivers are still looking to take advantage here.

8. Grainger Street – 623 parking tickets

One of Newcastle’s most famous streets, and home to the iconic Grainger Market, Grainger Street had its fair share of parking tickets dished out in 2022, with 623 parking tickets issued there!

9. Grey Street – 606 parking tickets

Road layout changes on Grey Street mean that the numbers of on-street parking spaces have drastically decreased. The new layout has helped boost Newcastle’s nightlife, creating a walkable street with cycle infrastructure and access to plenty of bars and restaurants, but has resulted in 606 parking tickets being issued here in 2022.

10. Dean Street – 589 parking tickets

There’s never really an excuse for getting yourself a parking ticket, but on Dean Street, the charge is surely even worse. Dean Street is home to one of the city’s largest multi-storey car parks, with over 170 bays – so if you’re caught parking without a ticket, you’ve only got yourself to blame.

Dan Reavely, our Head of Vehicle Finance comments: “With continued changes to the roads in and around Newcastle city centre, motorists need to be on the ball with their knowledge on where they can park and when.

“We’ve seen many of the same streets pop up in the top ten list year after year, so it might not all be accidental – but to avoid an unnecessary fine, we recommend using the car parking guide on the Newcastle City Council website to find out if your chosen area is legal to park in and whether or not you’ll need to pay. Parking ticket fines aren’t cheap, and it’s an unnecessary expense that you won’t want to pay on top of your existing car costs!”