Residents and visitors in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme are being encouraged to use WalkSafe, a safety app designed to help people plan journeys, share their location and find accredited safe spaces when travelling at night.
The rollout was announced on Monday, 1 June 2026, through a partnership involving Staffordshire Police, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Newcastle-under-Lyme BID.
The app is free to download through the main Android and Apple app stores. It is aimed at anyone moving around the city and town centres, including people heading home from pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants, late shifts or evening events.
Journey planning and live location sharing
WalkSafe gives users a set of practical tools that can be used before and during a night out. The core functions include live location sharing with trusted contacts, journey planning, route tracking and access to a UK-wide map of accredited safe spaces and venues.
For someone heading home late, the app can be used to plan a route in advance and allow chosen contacts to follow progress. The safe spaces map is intended to give users another option if they need somewhere recognised to stop, seek reassurance or reassess their route.
The councils and police are presenting the app as an additional safety measure rather than a replacement for emergency help. Anyone in immediate danger should still contact emergency services.
Areas covered by the local rollout
The local promotion covers both Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. That makes the app relevant for people moving between the two areas, including students, workers, visitors and residents using night-time venues across Staffordshire.
The partnership behind the rollout brings together local government, policing and the business community. Newcastle-under-Lyme BID’s involvement links the app to the town centre economy, where visible safety measures can influence whether people feel comfortable visiting venues after dark.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council said the app builds on wider community safety work already taking place across Staffordshire. The rollout sits alongside existing efforts to support confidence in towns and city centres, especially during busier evening and weekend periods.
Readers following wider public-space safety measures may also be interested in how another city is reviewing alcohol-related disorder rules in Plymouth city centre.
Why night-time reassurance is being prioritised
The council announcement pointed to research showing that 81 percent of women feel they have to consider their safety when getting home from pubs, clubs and bars. It also cited findings that people are 63 percent more likely to visit venues where visible safety measures are in place.
Those figures help explain why the app is being promoted through both public-sector and town centre partners. Night-time safety is not only a policing issue; it affects how people choose routes, whether they stay out later, how venues are perceived and whether families and friends feel comfortable with late travel plans.
The most useful role for an app like WalkSafe is likely to be preparation. Users can decide who they want to share their location with, check routes before leaving and identify safe spaces before they are needed.
Council says tools should help people feel supported
Councillor Duncan Walker, cabinet member for safe and resilient communities at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said everyone should feel safe when they are out, particularly women who often feel they need to take extra steps when heading home at night.
He said the WalkSafe rollout gives people simple, practical tools to help them feel more confident and supported while travelling across the city.
“This is a great example of partners working together to improve safety across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme,” he said.
How residents can use it now
People who want to try WalkSafe can search for the app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and review the privacy and location-sharing settings before using it on a night out.
Before travelling, users should choose trusted contacts carefully, make sure their phone has enough battery and mobile data, and agree what a contact should do if a journey appears delayed or interrupted.
The app is being promoted across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme from June 2026 as part of local work to improve reassurance around evening and night-time journeys.
Source: Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Source check Source trail
This article is based on the Stoke-on-Trent City Council announcement published on 1 June 2026 and keeps the app functions, partners and quoted comments tied to that source.
- Confirmed the announcement date as Monday, 1 June 2026.
- Checked the named rollout partners: Staffordshire Police, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, New...
- Kept the app features to those stated in the source: live location sharing, journey planni...
- Attributed the direct comment to Councillor Duncan Walker.
- Source
- Stoke-on-Trent City Council
- Scope
- Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Updated
- 2026-06-03 22:06
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