Annual Parking Report 2019 to 2020

Stockton-on-Tees is a Unitary Authority with a population of approximately 192,000. Within the Borough of Stockton there are 6 town centres; Stockton, Billingham, Thornaby, Yarm, Norton and Ingleby Barwick.

Stockton town centre is located on the north bank of the river Tees. At the heart of the High Street (which is one of the widest in the UK) is the Town Hall, which dates from 1735. The High Street also incorporates an outdoor market which has been in existence since the 1300s and is held every Wednesday and Saturday. Stockton High Street is historically known for being the first area to operate a railway system and it is something which we take great pride in. We have a feature within the town centre which shows our passion for this known as the Automaton. View how the automaton works.

The automaton attracts visitors every day to watch the way the engine appears from inside of a plinth and produce steam and sound effects which can be heard throughout the Town Centre.

Billingham town centre, located in the north of the Borough provides the town with national retail chains, including the oldest continuously trading Asda supermarket in the UK. The town centre public realm has been transformed with a multi-million pound facelift. It is home to one of the biggest leisure centres in the North East, The Forum. It provides facilities for swimming, ice skating, gymnasium, indoor activities as well as a Theatre attached to it.

To the west of the Town is Seal Sands which is a combination of industry and nature reserves between Stockton and Hartlepool.

Thornaby town centre was transformed with the pavilion shopping centre, providing extensive range of national and local retailers, restaurants and leisure centres. Similar to The Forum in Billingham, the Pavilion is the sister building which offers similar activities, all of which can be used with the same membership, ACTIV8.

Yarm town centre is located in the south of the Borough close to the border of North Yorkshire. Yarm is seen to be one of the most affluent areas of Stockton. The High Street is bordered by two rivers with many Georgian style buildings fronting onto the cobbled parking area providing a mix of shops and restaurants. Yarm is an attraction for people across the North East due to its vibrant and quirky coffee shops. Free parking is offered for the first hour in Yarm for shorter visits to the town and to help increase the availability of spaces for visitors.

Stockton-on-Tees prides itself on its event culture and continued to deliver an action packed calendar of events in 2019/20 across the Borough throughout the year. This included one of Europe's largest free open air festivals, the Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF), the biggest and most attended fire work display which attracted up to 40,000 spectators and the ever increasingly popular British Cycling Festival.

View our video which demonstrates the type of events we hold;

In February 2019, we saw the opening of the Hampton by Hilton Hotel which overlooks the Northshore Riverside giving you views of the Tees from your room with just a stone throw away from the High Street.

In 2021 we will see the grand opening of the historic building, The Globe Theatre. This is a very interesting building first opened in the 1930's. We are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to restore this beautiful building where we have been able to retain a large part of its historic structure.