A night-time safety app has been rolled out across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme to help residents and visitors plan journeys, share their location and find accredited safe spaces.
WalkSafe is being promoted locally from Monday, 1 June 2026, through a partnership between Staffordshire Police, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Newcastle-under-Lyme BID.
The app is aimed at people travelling after dark, including those heading home from pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants, work shifts, late study or public transport stops. It is available for Android and Apple phones through the usual app stores.
WalkSafe tools available across the local night-time economy
WalkSafe gives users a set of practical safety and reassurance features that can be used before and during a journey.
The main tools include:
- sharing a live location with trusted contacts;
- planning a route before leaving a venue;
- tracking a journey while travelling;
- viewing a UK-wide map of accredited safe spaces and venues.
The app does not replace emergency services. If someone is in immediate danger, they should still call 999. Its local role is to give people more options for planning ahead and staying connected with someone they trust while moving around town and city centres.
For people arranging a night out, the most useful step is likely to be setting up trusted contacts before leaving home. That means location-sharing can be started quickly if plans change, a lift falls through, a phone battery is low or a route home feels less comfortable than expected.
Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme partners back the rollout
The rollout covers both Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, tying the app to wider work on safety in town and city centres across Staffordshire.
The partnership brings together policing, councils and the business improvement district. That matters because night-time safety is not handled by one organisation alone. Police visibility, venue standards, transport links, lighting, safe spaces and public confidence all shape how people experience a night out.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council said the app builds on existing community safety measures already in place across Staffordshire. Newcastle-under-Lyme BID’s involvement also connects the rollout with businesses and venues that rely on people feeling able to visit, stay later and travel home with confidence.
Councillor Duncan Walker, cabinet member for safe and resilient communities at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said everyone deserves to feel safe when out and about, especially women who often take extra steps when heading home at night.
He said the rollout gives people “simple, practical tools” to feel more confident and supported while travelling across the city, and described the work as an example of partners acting together across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Why the app is being promoted now
The councils pointed to research showing that 81% of women feel they have to consider their safety when getting home from pubs, clubs and bars. The same research found people are 63% more likely to visit venues where visible safety measures are in place.
Those figures explain why the rollout is being framed as both a personal safety measure and a night-time economy issue. If people do not feel confident travelling home, they may leave earlier, avoid certain areas or decide not to go out at all.
Visible reassurance measures can also help venues, taxi ranks, late-night food businesses and town-centre operators. For residents, the practical value is more immediate: knowing where to go, who can see their journey and which places are marked as safe spaces.
What residents can do before a night out
Anyone planning to use WalkSafe should download it before going out, check phone permissions and add trusted contacts in advance. It is also sensible to make sure the phone has enough battery, mobile data is working and a backup plan is agreed with friends.
Parents and carers may also want to discuss the app with older teenagers and young adults who travel independently at night. The tools are designed for reassurance, but they work best when people have already agreed who will respond if a location is shared or a journey looks delayed.
The app is now being promoted across the two local areas as part of Staffordshire’s wider community safety work.
Source: Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Source check Source trail
This article is based on the Stoke-on-Trent City Council notice published on 1 June 2026 and cross-checked for the stated rollout area, partners and app features.
- Confirmed the rollout area as Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme.
- Checked the named partners: Staffordshire Police, both local councils and Newcastle-under-...
- Kept the app functions to those listed in the council notice: live location sharing, journ...
- Included the quoted safety research figures as attributed context from the source item.
- Source
- Stoke-on-Trent City Council
- Scope
- Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Updated
- 2026-06-03 21:58
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