Newcastle City Council

About Newcastle City Council

Newcastle City Council is the unitary authority for the city, responsible for the everyday services that keep it running: waste and recycling collections, council tax billing, resident parking permits, blue badges, school admissions, planning, environmental health and the city's libraries. Its home is the Civic Centre on Barras Bridge, the tall Grade II* listed 1960s building topped with gilded sea-horses and a carillon, a couple of minutes north of Haymarket Metro. A single contact number, 0191 278 7878, covers most services, though the great majority of requests, reports and applications now have their own online form and do not need a phone call or a visit.

For city-centre residents the council touches daily life in small ways: checking your fortnightly bin day by postcode, setting up council tax and claiming the single-person or student discount, applying for a resident permit on a controlled street, or reporting a pothole, broken street light or fly-tipping through the online portal. The council also runs the Clean Air Zone across the city centre, which charges only certain older buses, coaches, taxis, vans and HGVs and leaves private cars unaffected, and it operates the excellent central library on New Bridge Street West. Its Families Information Service is the route to the childminder register and to funded-childcare advice.

Featured in These Guides

Blog posts and guides that feature Newcastle City Council.

Newcastle City Council Services: A Practical Guide for the City Centre

Bins, council tax, parking permits, blue badges and the Civic Centre in one place. A plain-English guide to dealing with Newcastle City Council if you live or work in the city centre.

Best Schools in and around Newcastle City Centre

The city centre itself is mostly offices and shops, but some of the North East's best-known schools and colleges sit within a mile or two. A guide to the independent schools, sixth forms and colleges closest to the middle of Newcastle, and how state admissions work.

Nurseries and Childcare near Newcastle City Centre

Day nurseries, funded hours and how to find a place if you live or work in central Newcastle. A guide to the settings closest to the city centre, from a long-established parent co-operative in Jesmond to college nurseries on the west side of town.

Past Events

Recent events connected to Newcastle City Council.