South Shields town centre could see free parking but other fees and charges may rise
South Tyneside Council is looking to introduce a new free parking offer for South Shields town centre.
As part of the local authority’s annual review of fees and charges, South Tyneside Council is proposing that the first hour of parking in South Shields town centre could be made completely free.
The change would replace the ‘1p per minute’ model with a simpler offer of ‘one hour of free parking, followed by a flat rate of £1 per hour thereafter’ across all South Tyneside Council car parks in the town centre.
The move is designed to support local businesses, encourage footfall, and make it easier for residents and visitors to enjoy South Shields town centre.
Speaking about the proposals, Councillor Jim Foreman, Lead Member for Governance, Finance and Corporate Services, said: “We’ve listened to feedback and simplified our parking charges to make it easier and more attractive for people to visit South Shields town centre.
“Offering a free hour of parking is a practical way to support our high street and local economy, while still ensuring we can manage demand and maintain services.”
South Tyneside Council has revealed that parking charges at the foreshore are proposed to move to £1.60 per hour or £8 for an all day stay, in line with the offer across other North East local authorities.
If approved, the new parking tariffs would be implemented in the new year once signage and parking meters had been put in place.
The Council states that it is working to target support at the residents and parts of the borough that need it the most in an effort to reduce inequalities and make things fairer - with most other fees and charges will rise around 5.1% to reflect inflation and rising service costs.
Cllr Foreman added: “We continue to take a balanced approach. Our priority is to target support where it’s needed most — whether that’s subsidising school meals and milk or keeping leisure prices competitive.
“This year’s review reflects our ongoing commitment to fairness and providing the services people rely on.
“However, this must be balanced against meeting the increasing demand and associated costs across adults and children's social care supporting those who need our help the most which absorbs an increasing proportion of all councils' budgets.
"We know that some of our residents face financial difficulties. That is why we are determined to keep costs as low as possible.
“We will continue to support families by subsidising things like school meals and milk.
“45% of children will still be supported with free school meals, for everyone else the council will cover more than a quarter of the cost of school meals and provide the lowest priced school milk in the region.”
School meals and milk
South Tyneside Council currently subsidies school meals by £1.55 - this subsidy will reduce by 30p with the new price of school meals at £2.90 per pupil per meal from April 2026, with the Council contribute £1.25.
Children who receive free school meals will not be affected by this change.
The local authority has confirmed that it will continue to subside school milk by £2, with the cost of school milk set to be £14 per pupil per term for those who pay from April 2026.
Market charges
Daily charges for market traders are proposed to be brought in line with one another across both the market place area and seaside foreshore market at £26 per day.
New traders at the market area, in South Shields, would be able to take advantage of their first two weeks of trading at half price to attract new traders to the market.
Waste collections
South Tyneside Council has also revealed that it will seek to reduce subsidy and cover costs for some waste services, including Green Waste from April 2026.
Green Waste will move to £45 a year and bulky waste collections are proposed to be £30 for up to 10 items.
No additional income
South Tyneside Council has stated that the new fees and charges are not proposed to generate any additional income but rather to recover the rising cost to the Council providing the services.
If approved by Cabinet, the revised fees and charges will be implemented from December 1, 2025, unless otherwise stated.