Stoke night-out safety app helps residents plan journeys

A safety app designed for nights out is being rolled out across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, giving residents and visitors a way to plan journeys, share their location and find accredited safe places nearby.

WalkSafe has been introduced through a local partnership involving Staffordshire Police, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Newcastle-under-Lyme BID. The rollout was announced on Monday, 1 June 2026, and is aimed at people travelling through town and city centres, particularly at night.

The app is available for Android and Apple phones. It is being promoted as an extra reassurance tool, rather than a replacement for calling 999 in an emergency or seeking immediate help from police, venue staff or stewards.

WalkSafe tools available for local nights out

WalkSafe includes features intended to make journey planning more visible to trusted contacts before and during a night out.

Users can share their live location with people they choose, plan and track journeys, and view a UK-wide map of accredited safe spaces and venues. For people moving between pubs, clubs, bars, taxis, buses or car parks, the aim is to make the journey home easier to think through before problems arise.

The local rollout covers both Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. That makes it relevant for people moving between the two areas for work, student life, hospitality shifts, late shopping, live events or nights out.

The app may be most useful when set up before leaving home. Residents can check the settings, choose trusted contacts and make sure location permissions are working while they still have time and battery.

Who is behind the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme rollout

The scheme has been brought forward by Staffordshire Police, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme BID and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

The partnership matters because night-time safety usually depends on several parts of a town or city working together. Police patrols, licensed venues, transport routes, local businesses, CCTV coverage and public spaces all shape how confident people feel when travelling after dark.

For Stoke-on-Trent City Council, the app is being presented as part of existing community safety work rather than a standalone fix. Councillor Duncan Walker, cabinet member for safe and resilient communities, said everyone deserves to feel safe while out and about, with women particularly likely to take extra steps when heading home at night.

He said the rollout gives people simple and practical tools to help them feel more confident and supported when travelling across the city, calling it an example of partners working together across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Why the app is being promoted now

The announcement points 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 says people are 63 percent more likely to visit venues with visible safety measures in place.

Those figures help explain why the rollout is being aimed at both residents and the night-time economy. Safety measures can affect how people choose where to go, how long they stay out and whether they feel comfortable returning to town and city centres.

For venues, visible reassurance is increasingly part of the customer experience. For councils and police, the practical challenge is to make safety information easier to find without expecting people to search for it only after they already feel uneasy.

How residents can use it before travelling

Before a night out, users can download WalkSafe, allow the permissions they are comfortable with and decide who they would want to share their journey with. Trusted contacts should be people who are likely to notice if plans change and can respond sensibly if they receive an alert or location update.

For late journeys, the app can sit alongside familiar precautions: keeping a phone charged, arranging transport in advance, staying with friends where possible, and knowing where to seek help if plans change.

The strongest use case is preparation. A journey plan shared before leaving a venue is more useful than trying to set everything up on a busy street, outside a bar or in a low-signal area.

What happens next across local centres

The rollout now gives partners in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme another channel for night-time safety messaging. Its usefulness will depend on awareness, regular use and how clearly safe spaces and participating venues are understood by the public.

Residents can look for WalkSafe in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and check the app’s own information for device requirements, permissions and current features.

Source: Stoke-on-Trent City Council