From car park to community as Rye Park begins to take shape

Work is well underway at Rye Park, Capital&Centric’s transformation of the former Ryecroft surface car park in the heart of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The once empty patch of tarmac is now firmly on its way to becoming a lush, plant-packed community centred around a green urban park, with construction progressing across the site and the vision for the new community beginning to take shape.

Once complete, Rye Park will bring 175 new homes to the town centre, including 43 affordable homes managed by a local housing association. At its heart will be a new urban park, creating a lush green space for residents and the wider community to enjoy.

The project forms part of the wider regeneration underway across Newcastle-under-Lyme following a £19m funding boost from Homes England to support Capital&Centric’s plans in the town.

Rye Park is one part of Capital&Centric’s growing investment in Newcastle-under-Lyme. At Karparc, the social impact developer is transforming the former Midway car park into a design-led neighbourhood, while plans for Astley Place will bring new homes, independent spaces and a pocket park to the former York Place shopping centre. At Zanzibar, Capital&Centric is working with Aspire Housing to deliver 62 affordable homes on the site of the former nightclub.

John Moffat, Joint Managing Director at Capital&Centric, said:

“Rye Park has come a long way from the surface car park that was here before. There’s loads happening on site now and you can really start to get a sense that the neighbourhood is coming together. We’ve always wanted this to feel rooted in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and the park is a massive part of that, creating somewhere people can spend time outdoors and meet their neighbours, with the new homes wrapped around it. It’s brilliant to see it moving forward and, alongside everything else happening across our sites in the town, there’s a real sense of momentum building.”

Councillor Jonathan Gullis, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council said:

“For too long, town centres across the country have been in decline. Our ambition is to reverse that here in Newcastle by bringing people back into the heart of our town, breathing new life into our high street and giving local shops, cafés and businesses the customers they need to thrive. With Rye Park, the former Midway car park and York Place all being transformed, we're seeing real investment and renewed confidence in Newcastle's future. This is about more than building new homes. It's about creating a vibrant town centre where people want to live, shop, work and spend time, restoring pride in our town and ensuring Newcastle-under-Lyme has a bright and prosperous future.”

Rye Park is expected to complete in stages between May 2027 and January 2028.

Across the country, Capital&Centric is delivering regeneration projects in towns and cities including Sheffield, Wolverhampton, Gateshead, Plymouth and Sunderland, with a focus on turning overlooked and underused sites into distinctive neighbourhoods packed with homes, green spaces and places for communities to come together.