Additional parking spaces for Newcastle

Additional parking spaces for Newcastle

29 January 2025

PLANS have been unveiled to increase the number of spaces at a car park in Newcastle by a third.

Newry, Mourne and Down Council is increasing the number of spaces at Castle Park by 33, taking the total number to 88.

The revamped car park will include six disabled spaces and feature dedicated electric vehicle charging points.

Mournes councillor Laura Devlin has welcomed the upgrade, which begins next week and will take around two months to complete.

She said the demand for town centre parking, especially from Easter through until October, was well known.

“The additional spaces will be very welcome by local people and the business community,” said Cllr Devlin.

“I want to see Newcastle grow and thrive. We have congestion issues within the town centre at those peak periods which is why some form of a permanent park and ride out of town will be critical in terms of our future growth.”

Motorhome owners use Castle Park but were banned for seven days last September while the Amgen Irish Open golf competition was held at Royal County Down.

Some local politicians have suggested they should be permanently prohibited.

Currently, motorhome parking is banned between midnight and 6am under a council bye-law but it is being ignored at Castle Park and is a cause for concern for local authority officials who are drawing up a new motorhome strategy.

Last year, a survey revealed that 27 motorhomes were parked overnight in direct contravention of local authority legislation.

Motorhome owners are currently banned from parking at the Downs Road and Glen River car parks in the resort.

A number of councillors say it is recognised that overnight camping has become unsustainable and is placing operational and environmental pressure on visitor attractions that are designed for daytime use only.

There is concern that some motorhome owners put out awnings and tables and chairs which take up adjoining parking spaces that could be used by visitors.

Some councillors argue that as a premier tourist resort where local businesses are the lifeblood of the economy, the turnover of parking spaces is vital.

The move to devise a new motorhome strategy to address concern about the number of vehicles was agreed as their owners were taking up parking spaces not only in Newcastle, but across the district.

Local authority officials have previously met with senior representatives from the Department for Infrastructure, Tourism NI, motorhome user groups, Newcastle residents and the owners of local caravan parks and campsites to discuss the parking issue.

The final detail of the draft strategy  — which will apply across the entire council area — will be discussed by members of the council’s Sustainability and Environment Committee.

Councillors say they recognise the need to come up with a solution to an issue which has been in the headlines for a number of years.

Concern remains about some motorhome owners who park in the resort overnight in Castle Park amid claims that they do not make a significant contribution to the resort’s economy and can often take up valuable parking spaces which day trippers could use.

The assertion that has been denied by the motorhome owners who have previously made it clear that they are unhappy about being “victimised” and vehemently rejected accusations that they do not spend money in the resort, arguing there is not enough dedicated parking spaces for them in Newcastle.