Renaissance Newcastle #3

issue three: winter 2007

newcastle’s regeneration magazine

Inside: Retail, transport, libraries, Ouseburn, West End, Gallowgate...

feature transport

Welcome to Newcastle Newcastle is enjoying unprecedented levels of growth and investment. High profile schemes such as Science City, the Discovery Quarter, Newcastle Great Park and Ouseburn Valley are shaping the economic profile of a fast developing and vibrant European City.

In the city centre the ÂŁ170 million redevelopment of the Eldon Square Shopping Centre, is now in its second phase whilst a major retail led mixed use regeneration scheme covering a 33 acre area around East Pilgrim Street is set to become a distinctive new quarter of the City.

For further information go to www.renaissancenewcastle.com

Editor Sarah Herbert sarah@3foxinternational.com deputy Editor Kirsty MacAulay kirsty@3foxinternational.com art editor Terry Hawes terry@3foxinternational.com contributors David Blackman, David Gray, Adrienne Margolis

welcome How retail is revitalising Newcastle

Production Manager Rachael Schofield rachael@3foxinternational.com advertisement Sales Shelley Cook, Paul Gussar shelley / paul@3foxinternational.com Managing Director Toby Fox toby@3foxinternational.com Printed by Trade Winds Images Newcastle City Council, Stephen Robinson, Faulkner Browns, Hanro, Downing, Hundredth Monkey, Metier, Lambert Smith Hampton, Rattle PR, Moonglade Holdings, Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners, John Lewis, Fenwicks, Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, Cities Revealed aerial photography @ The Geoinformation Group 2005, Tower Hamlets Council.

Cover shot: Stephen Robinson Published by 189 Lavender Hill London SW11 5TB T: 020 7978 6840 F: 020 7978 6837 For Newcastle City Council

Paul Goodwin, sector development officer paul.goodwin@newcastle.gov.uk Subscriptions and Feedback ­www.renaissancenewcastle.com

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the third edition of Renaissance, which continues to track the regeneration activities of the city council and our ambitious 15-year vision for Newcastle.

This issue will focus on a renaissance in city-centre shopping, heralded by a £170 million investment by Capital Shopping Centres to refurbish the Eldon Square shopping centre, one of the UK’s top shopping destinations attracting 25 million visitors last year. Work is well under way on the second phase of the refurbishment, which will provide 43,000sq m of high-quality new retail space.

Work is also progressing on integrating city-centre shopping with its environment, through public realm work in Percy Street, the re-landscaping of Old Eldon Square with new walkways and seating, and the continued development of links from outlying areas to the city core through initiatives such as the Quaylink service.

Additionally, a major retail-led, mixed-use regeneration scheme around East Pilgrim Street is set to become a distinctive new quarter of the city, to potentially include investment opportunities in retail, offices, hotels, housing, student accommodation and leisure. We are currently preparing planning guidelines for the area and working closely with Multiplex, the majority landowner in the area.

I hope this edition of Renaissance will serve to further illustrate the unprecedented levels of growth and the impressive range of development projects that are shaping a new and exciting shopping experience, as we continue to add to the economic offer of this vibrant regional capital.

© 3Fox International Limited 2007 All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part ­without the written ­permission of 3Fox International Limited is ­strictly ­forbidden.

The ­greatest care has been taken to ensure the ­accuracy of ­information in this ­magazine at time of going to press, but we accept no ­responsibility for ­omissions or errors. The views expressed in this ­magazine are not necessarily those of 3Fox International Limited or Newcastle City Council.

Marie Fallon, director of regeneration, Newcastle City Council

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newcastle’s regeneration magazine issue three: winter 2007

contents

48 06 News What’s been happening in the city, from awards and events to demolition

38 24 30 Libraries How these civic buildings are reclaiming their place at the heart of the community

11 Markets A look at the housing, office, retail and leisure sectors

36 Map Which developments are planned, and for where

17 Retail How improving shopping facilities can revitalise a city centre

38 West End Just what is planned for the communities of Scotswood and Cruddas Park?

25 Transport Minimising disruption during city centre construction work

42 Projects The main areas for development in and around the city centre 50 Contacts Who to contact at Newcastle City Council

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30 42 Gallowgate 44 North Central 47 4th Yard 48 Ouseburn Valley

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round-up: What’s new, hot and happening in Newcastle’s regeneration programme

Talking shop on the Tyne Thousands of delegates will descend upon Newcastle in early November for the annual British Council of Shopping Centres event (BCSC). The theme for the three-day conference, at the Sage Gateshead from 5 to 7 November, is the regenerative impact of retailing, looking at the positive impact the industry can have on the community, environment, education, economy, employment and development.

More than 3,000 delegates are expected to attend the event, which is billed as a highlight in the retail property calendar, where keynote speakers such as Sir Bob Geldof (above left), BCSC president John Bullough, Lord Sebastian Coe, BDP’s chief executive Peter Drummond (above right) and polar explorer Pen Hadow will take to the stage.

Running alongside this year’s conference is the Showcase exhibition, featuring more than 90 retailers, developers, agents and consultants.

Study tours are also on offer, such as Newcastle City Council’s walking tour of the city centre and its key developments.

The tour will encompass the main shopping thoroughfare (Northumberland Street), Eldon Square shopping centre, East Pilgrim Street development site and the grade I listed Grainger Market, as well as historical sights.

This is the first time the event has been held in Newcastle. Peter Drummond believes that as one of the great shopping and entertainment capitals of Europe, Newcastle will provide a “fantastic backdrop” to the conference.

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CITY HOUSING DRIVE Newcastle is one of just 14 uk councils selected by the government to establish a local housing company. The government green paper on housing, published in July, offers a new approach to providing affordable family housing and will see councils working closely with developers and English Partnerships to get local housing companies up and running by the end of this year.

The newly formed local housing companies will be responsible for commissioning the design, masterplanning and development of new housing schemes. English Partnerships is set to launch a new support package, providing financial and technical assistance, for local authorities enabling them to unlock surplus land for housing development creating the mix of new and affordable homes that is needed to develop sustainable communities.

The Sage, Gateshead, venue for the BCSC event, viewed from Newcastle.

SCIENCE STARTS ON SITE Demolition is well under way on the former Tyne Brewery site that will form the heart of the city’s Science Central area.

It is expected that the 8ha site will be cleared by November, and that by March 2008 all trace of the old brewery buildings will be gone and the site will be totally ready for action.

Masterplanner EDAW is developing two options based on science- and university-related facilities. Public consultation in November will offer residents the chance to view both of the masterplan options and discover what is proposed for the city centre site. The results of the consultation exercise will be considered by EDAW when finalising the masterplan, due out in February.

Newcastle City Council is looking into the funding options for the development of Science Central, which is expected to take 10-15 years to complete. It is hoped work will start on the project next year.

A planning application by developer Downing, which owns part of the site, for a mixeduse development to include a hotel, student accommodation and commercial space has now been approved.

The development of Newcastle’s Science City, of which Science Central is a key element, will be accelerated through a special purpose vehicle, that will act as a focus for private and public investment.

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round-up continued

Walker on track The regeneration of Walker Riverside is continuing apace with the submission of plans for the latest phase, the clearance of 60 properties. The council-owned properties will be cleared

by April 2008 and redevelopment is due to start in summer 2009.

Overall 1,780 new homes will be built, with investment in open spaces, schools, transport and the environment.

Community involvement in the £430 million regeneration process has been high, with more than 2,700 people from the Walker area involved in events and workshops throughout the consultation period.

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Awarding architecture

square dance

The Hadrian Awards, which promote the best in architecture and design in the North East, was held in Newcastle Civic Centre in September.

Winners included Newcastle’s Dance City, by Malcolm Fraser architects, and Trinity Gardens on the Quayside, by Southern Green. The Ouseburn Farm revival project was commended as a symbol of the rebirth of the urban farm.

The awards are organised by the RIBA North East, Northern Architecture, the North of England Civic Trust and the Landscape Institute.

Trinity Gardens also won the Street Design Awards for Pedestrian Environment, for generating a sympathetic space within the Quayside.

Shoppers in Newcastle will have noticed the ongoing improvements at Eldon Square. The ultra-modern bus station opened this spring and demolition work is well under way on enabling the creation of the southern gateway. An extra 41,000sq m of shopping space, anchored by a four-storey Debenhams, will be created on the site of the old NCP car park and former Green Market.

Happy shoppers At long last work has started on the £23 million redevelopment of the Denton Park shopping centre. Rokeby Developments, acting for Wm. Morrisons, worked closely with council officers to create a masterplan for the mixed-use scheme, which gained planning permission earlier this year. It is pressing ahead with the revamped district centre plans that include a 6,750sq m food superstore, new and refurbished retail units, and a new health centre. Work will be complete in 2009.

Full steam ahead The 4ha historic site on the riverside referred to as the Stephenson Quarter (it was here that local man George Stephenson worked on the Rocket, the world’s first modern locomotive) has been acquired by Silverlink Holdings for a mixed-use development.

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markets feature

Vital statistics Newcastle’s residential, commercial and retail facts and figures, from house prices to rental yields, and forecasts of what’s to come. By David Gray

Newcastle is the growth centre of the North East and its economy has been steadily improving in recent years. This good news, however, should be seen in the context of both the city and its region still being below the national average for prosperity and productivity. According to the OECD in its recent review of the Newcastle region, the city itself has improved its performance considerably in the past decade by growing employment in the services sector. But for the continued regeneration of the city and region, creating a knowledge-based economy is vital to combat the effect of the decline of manufacturing and the huge loss of industrial jobs in the 1980s and 1990s.

Services already account for almost 90% of employment in Newcastle.

There were 120,000 economically active residents in the city at the end of 2006, with 42,000 of them working in finance, IT and business activities. Newcastle has attracted many new jobs in the financial sector and, despite the recent problems with Northern Rock (based in the city), such employment is expected to continue growing throughout the next decade.

Manufacturing still provides work for more than 11,000 people, but this is less than either distribution (32,800 employees) or tourism-related activities (16,200). The current unemployment rate in the city is 8.2%, higher than the national average of 5.3%.

Average earnings are higher in Newcastle than elsewhere in the North East, but wages still lag behind much of the rest of the country. Gross weekly pay for full-time workers in 2006 was £406 in Newcastle compared to £449 across the whole of Great Britain. Self-

Services already account for almost 90% of employment in Newcastle

employment also remains comparatively low – barely 5% in 2006 – but has been steadily increasing, as has the annual rate of business start-ups. Perhaps most important for the future of Newcastle, its population is increasingly better educated. There are more than 30,000 full-time students in the city, many of whom choose to stay on after they graduate, and the proportion of residents with qualifications has risen above the national average.

Residential market The housing market in and around Newcastle has seen much activity and strong price rises in the past five years, even if this can be expected to cool down during 2007-2008 along with the rest of the country. According to the Land Registry, the average price of a house in Newcastle was £138,800 in July 2007, while the equivalent in Gateshead cost £115,700. Detached houses in Newcastle had reached almost £320,000 ➺

Average earnings are higher in Newcastle than elsewhere in the North East, but wages still lag behind much of the rest of the country renaissance 11

amy whyte KNIGHT FRANK RESIDENTIAL The residential market remains very strong, but buyers are becoming more careful. “There are no timewasters any more,” says Whyte, “just serious buyers who want due diligence on every aspect of their purchase.” The city centre is still the area of choice for young professionals, with prices being pushed up by a shortage of available properties.

“Planning restrictions in the centre have slowed up development in the past 18 months, but the market is now becoming more competitive and there are good schemes in the pipeline for 2008 and 2009.” Investment purchasers made the running in the past two years, though demand is now strengthening from owner occupiers.

Knight Frank is finding success with top-end schemes in Gosforth and also further out from the city centre. Whyte feels that “the right mix and quality in suburban schemes will sell really well” with both apartments and family homes on the same site. She is more cautious about the growing pressure to build ‘ecohomes’. “It is the way we have to go forward, but it’s an untested market and nobody yet knows what kind of premium buyers will be prepared to pay.” n

by mid-2007, with terraced properties costing an average of £147,000 and maisonettes and flats £116,000.

Future growth in the residential market is underpinned by expected changes in the demographics of the city and its surrounding area. According to the ONS and the council’s housing market studies, household numbers will rise from 113,000 in 2001 to 129,000 by 2021. This increase is fuelled by a combination of migration into the city and the growing number of young professionals graduating from local universities and choosing to stay in the city. An additional 18,000 new homes are forecast to be required by 2021, with at least 700 being built every year. Family homes are of particular importance and it is expected that only around 30% of the new properties should be flats rather than houses. This will mean a change in the recent pattern of house-building in the area, where two-thirds of completions in 2005 and 2006 were one or two-bed properties (almost all flats).

Newcastle has a lower-than-average proportion of owner-occupiers (53% in 2006), but this reflects the traditional importance of public housing. Owneroccupation remains the first choice for newly forming households, and the main problem is not choice but affordability.

Social rented housing will therefore

remain a significant part of the market for the foreseeable future and the council expects the proportion of socially rented stock to only slowly reduce from 30% in 2004 to 22% in 2021.

Newcastle City Council is playing an important role in the residential market and this is as might be expected in a city where social housing has long been of great significance. This role will increase as a result of the government’s recent housing green paper, which named Newcastle as one of 14 pilot authorities to set up a local housing company.

Meanwhile the £450 million expo scheme at Scotswood, set up in July 2007 as part of the Pathfinder programme, is progressing and will eventually provide up to 1,800 homes as well as shops and community facilities (see page 38).

The search for a private sector partner for the expo, a joint venture with English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation, has begun.

With ample green space and stunning panoramic views, the edge-of-city-centre site has real and more words needed to fill here

Office market Commercial property in Newcastle has grown steadily in importance as office work has become a larger component of the city’s economy. All forecasts suggest this will continue, and a recent study by GVA Lamb and Edge sees office-related activities increasing by 2.5% a year over the next decade, this means an extra

The average price of a house in Newcastle was £138,800 in July 2007, while the equivalent in Gateshead cost £115,700 An additional 18,000 new homes are forecast to be required by 2021 12 renaissance

markets feature

requirement of 625,000sq ft by 2015.

The existing stock of space in the city is 9.5 million square feet, representing one-third of stock across the whole North East region.

The focus for commercial development during the 1990s in the city centre was the Quayside, but this now has little space left. The new area for office property is west of the city centre in the Discovery Quarter, specifically Gallowgate, St James’s Boulevard and south of Central Station. Schemes starting in 2007/8 include Hanover Square, Quay Point, the redevelopment of Wellbar House and, outside of the city centre, Newcastle Great Park.

Developer Downing has recently received approval for a major mixed-use scheme incorporating office use adjacent to the former Scottish and Newcastle brewery site. This, together with the recent plans for the brewery site itself, promise a significant availability there from 2011 onwards. There are few suitable outof-town sites for planning policy and accessiblity reasons, though Newburn Riverside is proving a successful location.

Compared to other regional cities, Newcastle’s office market has a relatively low vacancy rate. According to the most recent estimates from Knight Frank, the city’s rate of 5.5% was much less than Manchester’s 12.3% or Sheffield’s 11.5%.

Vacancies have been falling year-on-year since 2002 due to strong demand and the shortage of available property.

The shortage of ready to develop land means that pre-lets are not currently a requirement for new schemes. Takeup rates have been high for almost all recently completed developments in the city, GVA Lamb and Edge estimate on average at least 50,000sq ft has been taken up annually between 1996-2005 by new tenants.

Prime rents in mid-2007 stood at £22 per square foot, according to Knight Frank, expected to rise to £24 by the end of the year. This is cheaper than in either Birmingham or Manchester, though slightly more expensive than Sheffield and Cardiff. The average rent for all available office properties in the city is £15 per square foot. According to forecasts from GVA Lamb and Experian, office rents in the Newcastle area are expected to rise by at least 2.8% during each of the next five years.

Yields have been falling, though this is in line with most other UK centres.

Knight Frank estimates prime yields dropping from 7.25% in 2002 to 4.75% through 2006 to mid-2007. The gap between prime and secondary yields is also becoming more compressed, but this is also similar to other regional office centres. ➺

Prime rents in mid2007 stood at £22 per sq ft... expected to rise to £24 by the end of the year. This is cheaper than in either Birmingham or Manchester

Gavin Black Gavin Black Partners Black believes that availability will become less of a problem in the commercial sector. “As new developments come on line, especially on the land behind the Central Station, availability will improve and this will ease pressure on rents.”

He also sees rents stabilising because demand in the local market is changing. “I think the principal relocation of local companies has now taken place,” he says. “The challenge is to attract incoming tenants in the face of competition from rival cities such as Leeds.” It will no longer be possible to sell Newcastle just on quality of life and good transport connections. “We need a more integrated and rounded approach, focusing on the cost of living and the cultural attractions of the city, as well as the quality and value of new developments.” n

“The challenge is to attract incoming tenants in the face of competition from rival cities” Gavin Black gavin black partners

renaissance renaissance 13

feature markets

Robert Patterson Sanderson Weatherall The demand for leisurerelated developments is increasing, according to Patterson, who works in planning and development.

Planning consent has recently been given for several new hotels and their prospects should be good. “There is a very good occupancy rate for existing hotels and the city is successfully promoting itself as a weekend break destination,” he says.

Patterson believes the local economy can sustain an even wider range of leisure facilities, especially restaurants, and that most new developments in the city centre will be mixeduse, incorporating retail and leisure as well as residential and office space. Phase two of St James Gate, with which Sanderson Weatherall is involved, will certainly be more than just an office development. n

Retail and leisure market Newcastle has long been the shopping and entertainment centre of the North East. The centre of the city has become one of the most popular night-time leisure hotspots in the country and the main shopping streets have all been moving steadily up-market in recent years. Then there are the two premierleague shopping centres at Eldon Square (in the city centre) and MetroCentre (across the river in Gateshead).

According to Colliers CRE, Newcastle achieves among the highest retail rents in the country outside of London. Prime rents in zone A in 2007 are estimated at £325 per sq ft, a similar level to central Birmingham. The rise in rents has taken place steadily over the past five years, but, in common with the national situation, the rate has started to decline and the annual figure for 2007 is unlikely to exceed 2.5%, compared to 3.5% in 2005/2006 and 4% in 2004/2005.

The national downturn in retailing will inevitably affect Newcastle, but the city is expected to fare better than many other locations. Both Eldon Square and MetroCentre are being refurbished and extended by their owner Capital Shopping Centres in programmes worth over £215 million. Besides retail outlets, Eldon Square is getting several

Newcastle achieves among the highest retail rents in the country outside of London. Prime rents in zone A are estimated at £325 per sq ft 14 renaissance

new restaurants and the MetroCentre will have a new cinema complex. In August 2007, Capital Shopping Centres also bought from Royal London the 220,000sq ft retail park on the western side of MetroCentre. This purchase, in a joint venture with GIC Real Estate, cost £83 million and opens the way to creating a combined shopping centre covering two million square feet. With the pipeline of new shopping centres now drying up in many parts of the country, this is a big vote of confidence in the future of Newcastle and Gateshead as a retail magnet.

In addition there will be a major new mixed-use development on the old Scottish and Newcastle Brewery site in the city centre, which was given planning permission in September 2007. The £200 million Downing Plaza scheme will cover 600,000sq ft and include a large hotel, retail outlets and a student village as well as office space. n

“There is a very good occupancy rate for existing hotels... the city is promoting itself as a weekend destination” Robert Patterson, planning and development sanderson weatherall

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EDAW is leading a team of consultants on the redevelopment of the Tyne Brewery site working closely with our clients to deliver “one of the world’s premier locations for the integration of science, business and economic development”, and one of the first major success stories of the Governments Science Cities agenda.

Forming the heart of Newcastle Science City, it presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to continue Newcastle’s regeneration success story.

The last remaining City Centre expansion area, it forms Newcastle’s premier transformational site and must therefore deliver a development that is of ‘postcard quality’, with a form that is ‘of Newcastle not just in Newcastle’.

In deliberate contrast to traditional science and innovation campuses, it will be a vibrant place with bustling streets and City squares to encourage interaction and the exchange of ideas yet it will also contain quieter contemplative spaces, secure courtyards and private roof gardens to deliver an environment for ideas and innovation.

Local influences such as handling of topography and development patterns will be respected but we also draw inspiration from Newcastle’s tradition of boldness and adventure in urban development.

Combining the best in public realm with buildings that are cutting edge in terms of sustainable design to create a striking ‘Green’ image for Science Central, EDAW’s masterplan will set the new paradigm in Newcastle’s Architectural story.

Specifically designed to raise the scale and pace of the commercialisation of research and development in the city-region, the so-called ‘Science Central’ scheme will be the world’s first truly science-led quarter of a city centre.

Delivering a mixed use quarter, focused on attracting and developing world class knowledge and business in science and technology, EDAW’s designs are both rooted in and integrated with the regenerating City.

The project fits neatly with EDAW’s recent involvement in the regeneration of the West End of Newcastle, continuing the firm’s established connection and commitment with this fine Northern city.

01 Dramatic rooftop spaces open up views of the City and the Tyne

02 Streets retaining Newcastle character in a modern idiom

03 Suggested massing with building ‘stepping down’ the sloping site

renaissance

Responsible Regeneration At Capital Shopping Centres we believe in long term investment - as we have demonstrated in our partnership with Newcastle City Council. For over thirty years, we have worked successfully together to maintain the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position as one of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top ten shopping destinations.

We are a company that takes our responsibilities very seriously. Through our ongoing programme of modernising and remodelling, we aim to provide better facilities, better shopping and more job opportunities.

And we do this responsibly so that the whole community benefits, striving to create the best environment, using solutions that will be as good tomorrow as they are today.

Capital Shopping Centres - working for a better tomorrow.

40 Broadway, London SW1H 0BU T: 020 7887 4220 F: 020 7887 4225 www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk

retail feature

Retail therapy Newcastle’s shopping experience is about to go up a gear, thanks to some major developments. But it’s not just shoppers who will benefit, as David Blackman explains

WAGs may be turning their noses up at the north’s shopping attractions, according to recent press reports, but cities like Newcastle-uponTyne have more than their fair share of shopping attractions. High street favourites are well represented in the city’s shopping nodes like Northumberland Street and Eldon Square. But there are also niche outlets such as C F Cruise Flannels, which is popular with Newcastle United’s players so surely prime WAG territory.

But shopaholics aren’t the only fans of retail. City centres needing a boost

Newcastle city centre is a shoppers’ paradise.

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The regeneration is bound to cause traffic and transport problem to cause traffic and transport problem.

The regeneration is bound to cause traffic and transport problem to cause traffic and transport problem

“The retail sector plays an increasingly vital role in the regenerat the British Retail Consortium. High land values can enable costly level employment. It also means the high cost of redeveloping br love it too – the high land values that retail schemes are able to generate can be a powerful engine for regeneration.

Landlords are generally able to charge substantially higher rents for retail than any other floorspace. Recent analysis by property consultant Colliers showed that the average zone A retail rent in Newcastle city centre was £325 per sq ft, making it one of the most lucrative city centre pitches outside London. By contrast, office rents in the city were £22 per sq ft.

Even during the dark days of the 1980s and early 90s recession, Newcastle maintained its position as shopping heaven, thanks in part to relatively low house prices, which meant that the region’s population were able to enjoy a relatively high disposable income.

Rental yields explain why retail schemes are such a powerful driver for urban regeneration. With such high values, it is possible to recover the high cost of bringing contaminated brownfield sites back into use. It can also enable 18

costly conversions or redevelopments of old buildings in town and city centre locations. Shops also provide low-skilled, entry-level employment, which can be particularly useful in areas like Newcastle with a history of deep-seated unemployment. “The retail sector plays an increasingly vital role in the regeneration of towns and cities across Britain,” says the British Retail Consortium.

Greg Stone, a director of regeneration consultancy Beyond Green, says this is especially true for Newcastle. The retail developments currently in the pipeline are “very important” for the city’s wider economic development. “The retail sector is a significant part of the city’s employment base,” he says, and reckons that shopping is also one of the main reasons why an increasing number of people are choosing to visit Newcastle.

But the city’s ranking in the league table of UK shopping attractions has deteriorated since the early 1980s.

“Fifteen years ago, Newcastle was one

of the top retail destinations, second or third after London,” says Bob Fletcher, director of retail agency at property consultant Sanderson Weatherall. While it weathered the early 1990s opening of the Gateshead MetroCentre, which hit town and city centres across the region, it has since lost ground.

Part of the problem has been the city’s Eldon Square shopping centre.

“Newcastle’s Eldon Square shopping centre was state-of-the-art when it opened in the 1970s,” says Matthew Atkins, senior planning officer at Newcastle council, “but it was showing its age after 30 years and there were limited opportunities to change it. We didn’t have a Debenhams, for example.”

“When Eldon Square was built, it catered for the requirements of the day,” says Fletcher. But by the end of the 1990s it was not catering for the requirements of modern retailers, who wanted larger units than it could offer.

Current plans to regenerate Eldon Square aim to bring that situation to

retail feature

Retail: Good for jobs

ion of towns and cities across Britain,” says conversions and provide low-skilled, entryownfield sites can be recovered an end. “It was important to upgrade what was a traditional shopping centre into something that is much more 21st century,” says Stone, who was until recently cabinet member for regeneration at Newcastle council. “This scheme is very important to the competitiveness of the traditional retail offer in Newcastle.”

Fletcher, who is letting space at Eldon Square, argues that the new scheme will enable Newcastle to once again become one of the UK’s top shopping destinations. “The centre is hoping to reclaim that title by providing the kind of space that modern retailers now require,” he says.

“It will provide high ceilings, doubleheight units with a lot of light. It’s going to be different from the rest of the city’s shopping offer,” says Fletcher.

“The amount of requirement for Newcastle has been huge and there hasn’t been the space. This will attract some of the names that are missing from Newcastle, but are present in Scotland, like Zara and Ghost.”

With a catchment area stretching from the Scottish Borders to Yorkshire, it is not surprising that Newcastle has been the leading city named by retailers when asked recently to list their space requirements. The city centre area action plan’s issues paper says Newcastle’s position as a leading retail centre could be compromised unless new floorspace is provided that will enable it to compete with other regional cities and the MetroCentre. The £170 million Eldon Square project, currently under way, will increase the size of the shopping centre to almost 1.3m sq ft (89,277sq m) a net increase in retail space of some 325,000sq ft. The redevelopment will include a 180,000sq ft, four-storey Debenhams, and a 37,000sq ft New Look store, the largest in the UK. These stores will join other established big names like John Lewis, Fenwick and Marks and Spencer which are already represnted in Newcastle.

The scheme will deliver other benefits for the city centre. The most significant

Above: The new bus station at Eldon Square.

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Retail is a powerful motor for urban regeneration. But, all too often, the residents of deprived inner city districts fail to taste the fruits of the regeneration taking place on their doorstep. And while unemployment has fallen dramatically from the levels of 10 to 15 years ago, stubborn pockets of worklessness still exist in many of these areas. Areas that, until recently, retailers made few efforts to recruit from.

But recent years have seen a change of heart from many highstreet names. This is partly a matter of self-interest. Relatively low levels of unemployment mean that they are no longer able to be as choosy as they were a decade ago.

Policy-makers also increasingly see retail as a valuable tool in curbing unemployment. Councils used to adopt a snooty attitude towards retail on the grounds that it did not offer ‘real’ skilled jobs. But the decline of traditional sources of employment in the manufacturing industry has sparked growing interest in retail’s job generation capacity.

A report recently prepared for the Greater London Authority says: “Retail is a valuable form of employment for many groups in the labour market, partly due to the high proportion of part-time employment opportunities available when compared to other sectors of the economy.”

Also, it says, entry into some forms of retail employment requires few qualifications so is especially valuable in deprived areas where the bulk of the population tends to have low skills. Another benefit is staff retention. Tesco discovered that staff recruited in the six stores opened under the retail giant’s regeneration partnership scheme are much less likely to leave than their counterparts elsewhere in the company, and claims to have created 2,200 jobs since it launched the initiative in 1999.

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retail feature

The south mall extension of Eldon Square will greatly increase the city’s retail prowess.

continued from page 19

The Shop for Jobs scheme aims to ensure that the city’s poorer residents benefit from the retail job opportunities for Newcastle is a new bus interchange.

“We also have got improved public realm on Percy Street and Westgate. Without this scheme that would be difficult to deliver,” says Atkins.

It will also be better integrated with the surrounding city than the centre it is replacing. New retail frontages on Clayton Street will face on to the awardwinning Grainger Town regeneration project. Fletcher comments that the new centre’s design is not revolutionary, but reflects a wider shift in thinking on shopping centre design.

The post-war shopping centre was conceived as an enclosed environment that offered protection from the elements, and also happenedw to be easier to manage. But planners have become disenchanted with a format that has created barriers to movement within town and city centres. They want to create more permeable environments, including open malls, which can be

better integrated into the existing fabric and layout of town centres, creating a more varied townscape.

The backlash against the traditional mall has been fuelled by growing concern that the domination of a few high street chains means that towns and cities are becoming increasingly homogenised, or ‘clone towns’, as the New Economics Foundation thinktank dubbed them.

Newcastle council is alive to these concerns, a key factor being that the high street chains are the only firms generally able to afford the booming rents being charged in central Newcastle. Its action plan for the city centre says: “There is a perceived lack of independent and quality retailers in the city centre and there is a need to consider the development of these markets.”

As a result, Newcastle is looking to achieve something different in the neighbourhood known as the East Pilgrim Street area. Lying to the south ➺

Newcastle provides a microcosm of many UK cities. While its city centre is booming with important new retail development projects in the pipeline at Eldon Square and East Pilgrim Street, the city’s East and West Ends have both been scarred by problems of long-term unemployment and housing market abandonment.

The Shop for Jobs scheme, run by the city council, aims to ensure that residents of the city’s poorer neighbourhoods benefit from the retail job opportunities being created in the city centre.

The scheme builds on the success of an earlier small-scale pilot project funded by the Newcastle New Deal for Communities project, which helped several residents of the West End obtain jobs. It provides customised training packages in stock control, customer service and supervision skills, for people wishing to enter into retail employment it offers participants a guaranteed interview with selected employers.

One of those to have benefited from the initiative is Jenna Avery, who completed eight weeks of the course before landing a job at the UK’s firstever Kickers footwear store at the Gateshead MetroCentre. “The course was really good,” said 19-year-old Jenna, who lives in the Cruddas Park area of the city. “It covered loads of things like communication skills, interview techniques and so on. They really gave me confidence. The skills from the course are really helping me with things like customer service.”

More than 200 residents of the New Deal area alone have so far benefited from training under Shop for Jobs, which has now widened its service to people across the city. “It really is training with a purpose, as trainees will have a guaranteed job interview at the end of the process, while retailers will benefit from access to skilled staff,” said Alison Sanderson, project co-ordinator.

She insists that employers will benefit as well. “It really can take the pain out of recruitment for retailers, as we will help to find and train staff for your business.”

An added bonus for traders is that, with training also available to existing retail employees, they can improve their staff’s skills at no cost. Capital

» 21

Pilgrim Street: A new vision for the historic heart of Newcastle

| Open spaces

| New hotels

| New shops

| City centre offices

| CafĂŠ culture

| Private apartments

| Fine dining

| Student accommodation

For more information contact Mark Robinson, Development Director, Multiplex Developments on 0191 231 6010

retail feature

The Pilgrim Street area contains many important buildings and spaces which form an important part of city centre heritage, including listed Georgian buildings and grander Art Deco structures east of the established shopping core, the blocks forming the East Pilgrim Street development area are the next part of the city centre being considered for redevelopment. Developer Multiplex has been acquiring land and buildings in the area over several years. But it faces a very different challenge to the Eldon Square scheme.

The city centre area action plan’s issues and options paper says the area contains many important buildings and spaces which form an important part of city centre heritage. The area’s architectural heritage includes listed Georgian buildings and grander Art Deco structures, which give East Pilgrim Street a distinctive character. Ben Wrighton, an associate director at consultant DTZ, which is advising the city council, says: “There’s every type of building, a number of which need to be retained.”

Stone says the council is keen to see something distinctive emerge in East Pilgrim Street. And his thinking is in tune with a recent report by the British Council for Shopping Centres on the future of retail. It says new schemes, like Pilgrim Street, offer “a valuable opportunity for developers to introduce greater quality and individuality”.

“We also want to cultivate niche retailers,” says Stone. “We have been looking at Exeter, where part of the planning brief was to incorporate a number of more individual local retailers.” He is referring to the redevelopment of the south west city’s Princeshay shopping centre, where units have been specifically earmarked for niche and independent retailers. The BCSC report says that this fits with landlords’ ‘increasing willingness’ to offer space to smaller and independent retailers in order to differentiate their product.

Newcastle has, of course, already

shown how regenerating a historic quarter can pay off commercially.

The award-winning Grainger Town scheme has resulted in retail rents increasing by 60% on Grey Street, the area’s main thoroughfare.

Wrighton, who is currently completing a retail capacity assessment for the council, says the East Pilgrim Street scheme will include a mix of uses.

He says: “There’s a real opportunity for Newcastle to make a step change in terms of quality here.” Maybe even the WAGs might be happy. n

continued from page 21

Shopping Centres, which owns both the MetroCentre and Eldon Square, is backing the initiative. Tim Lamb, centre manager of Eldon Square says: “Eldon Square is always keen to support education projects as we feel it is essential in order to develop the skills of our future workforce, and highlight retail as being a truly rewarding career.”

The project has also won high level government blessing. Following a recent visit to the NDC project Baroness Andrews, junior minister at the Department for Communities and Local Government, said: “Strong communities spirit is not only about improving the look of a place, it is also about giving people hope. That is why projects like Shop for Jobs are so important.” n

23

The future of Tyneside is taking shape along today’s Metro lines.

39 million passengers - reaching into the hearts of our cities and towns, helping tackle growing congestion.

Our network serves the area’s largest urban regeneration sites - Science City and the Stephenson Quarter in Newcastle city centre, Gateshead’s town centre and Baltic business quarter and Newcastle International Airport among them.

Without Metro, Tyne and Wear would have 15 million more car journeys every year, severe congestion in the morning peak on key roads and a significant increase in air pollution.

To meet the needs of our economy and people in the decades to come, the Tyne and Wear Metro needs new investment.

Nexus and the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority have developed a £600m proposal for Metro Re-invigoration over the next 20 years, now submitted to Government.

This sets out in detail when investment is needed in our existing network - to modernise stations and trains, to renew our ageing tracks, power lines and other assets, and to replace outdated ticket machines and install ticket barriers at main stations.

Re-invigoration is critical to the future of Metro and the region’s economy. Every year we carry more than

We’ve carried more than a billion people since Metro was born in 1980. We want to carry a billion more with the reliability and convenience the modern passenger demands.

To find out more about Metro Re-invigoration, to comment on our proposals or show your support, go to www.nexus.org.uk.

Building for tomorrow through better transport today

transport feature

Traffic report One downside of regeneration is the inevitable transport disruption.

Adrienne Margolis discovers how new council thinking is smoothing the way

Good management and co-ordination is keeping Newgate Street moving during the redevelopment of Eldon Square.

The transformation of the city centre, especially the west side, can only be a good thing. But until 2010, when the series of regeneration schemes will be complete, officials will be faced with a number of tough practical problems, not least of which will be trying to minimise transport disruption.

“The regeneration is bound to cause traffic and transport problems, but fortunately the redevelopment is all taking place along the same length of street,” says Peter Wightman, group manager, traffic and project management for Newcastle City Council. “Even though it’s the developers who have control of when each scheme happens, we try and co-ordinate it as best we can,”

he adds. “We get everyone involved talking, which minimises disruption and assists the developers.”

After years of experience handling regeneration, Newcastle Council has an enviable reputation for having a “can do” culture. “If we work closely with the developer, we get better results,” Wightman says.

For projects on the scale of those on the west side, experienced officers are assigned by the council to work closely with developers. And the officers work across disciplines, to solve traffic problems, building control, planning or urban design issues and public utilities. “Our role is to co-ordinate things and help see the bigger picture,” Wightman explains. “This is a great advantage to the developers. If we were dealing with each project nose to tail, the disruption

➺ 25

Below: The redeveloped Haymarket Metro station will incorporate offices, shops, bars and restaurants.

Right: North Shields is one of the stations being revamped as part of the Metro’s reinvigoration.

One strategy is to undertake other major works while construction is causing disruption anyway would probably last a decade. Instead of people from different departments going into silos, we act as a go-between and ease the way for developers,” he says.

Wightman believes his department is able to minimise disruption more efficiently now the council’s regeneration directorate is in place. “It has taken time to be able to work across disciplines, and having someone on the inside at the council makes life a lot easier for outsiders.”

Shortening timescales for construction work goes a long way towards reducing disruption. “If a developer requires quick responses to building control or planning issues we can arrange a meeting and head off a problem that may otherwise delay things for weeks. Timescales can also be long because of the legal work involved in issues like closure of the public highway,” Wightman says. “We can progress that.

We can assist in the preparation of plans and documentation and draw on our 26

local knowledge of the city. In many cases we will progress the legal processes and appear in court to help smooth out any potential problems. We can offer the developer a high level of support and confidence, reinforcing that the council is here to help them and not hinder.”

Another strategy is to undertake other major works while construction is causing disruption anyway, Wightman suggests. “For example, if the water mains need upgrading, and we are diverting traffic because of other projects, we get this in at the same time.”

Kevin Butcher, chief project manager for Capital Shopping Centre’s redevelopment of Eldon Square, agrees that involving the council’s development team in negotiations with utilities is key. “We get a picture of what other developers are doing that could disrupt our work and avoid utilities digging up a site after we have finished work,” he says.

transport feature

The city’s transport system is also being transformed. Here are some of the key changes: Newcastle Metro

The Eldon Square redevelopment illustrates how well the council’s approach is working. “The team’s ability to open doors and get quick responses really helps,” says Butcher. “On other projects, we have found that we spend an inordinate amount of time finding the right person in the council and then coordinating with other departments.”

This guidance has meant the redevelopment of the west side of Newcastle is going more smoothly than officials dared to hope. Keeping everyone informed has also helped. “We held a series of meetings with business leaders, the community and police. We expected objections, but there was not one dissenting voice. Everyone saw the

benefits of the work. If people know why it is being done, and that eventually it will result in benefits like 4,500 new jobs, they are more ready to tolerate changes,” Wightman reckons.

“Communication is the key,” he stresses. “It is easy to say, but not so easy to do. We stress our priorities are the city’s regeneration, to keep public transport moving and allow essential car use. We got everyone’s agreement to prioritise public transport.”

This was clearly painful for car drivers, but there were few major problems. “If you explain the benefits to everyone, and tell them what is happening,” he says, “you change potential objectors into supporters of a transformed city”. n

Above: Heworth Station, to be transformed as part of the multi-millionpound upgrade of the Metro service.

Transport innovation pilot Car drivers are also having their woes addressed by a study into how to ease the problem of traffic congestion in Tyne and Wear. Called People in Motion, and under way since 2005, it is being undertaken by the Tyne and Wear Local Transport Partnership.

“We have looked at more than 150 strategies for managing congestion. There is no single answer, and many proposals are aspirational rather than deliverable.

But we have come up with seven themes,” says project lead officer Richard Hibbert.

“Very few people say that they are in favour of congestion charging,” Hibbert notes. “But they do recognise that congestion is a problem, and that it is getting worse. The public does understand why a strategy is necessary. If you suggest that congestion charging can provide more revenue to plough back into improvements in the transport system, then you get a more balanced perspective.”

The findings will be presented to local politicians next March. n

The Metro was opened in August 1980 and is showing signs of age. Without fresh investment, there were fears that the system could start to fail by 2018.

Stations are in need of revamping and new rolling stock is required.

“The Metro has been the centrepiece of our public transport system since 1980. It carries 40 million passengers a year who would otherwise use the roads,” says Bernard Garner, director general of the passenger transport executive, Nexus. “Now, 30 years on, major elements require replacement, partly because their life has expired, and partly because we need to improve the quality of the system, to keep existing passengers and to attract new ones.”

He adds that usage has grown over the past two years because Nexus is operating a good service.

“We continually need to deliver a high quality product, which is why we have put in place a 20year investment plan starting this year.”

Phase 1 involves building new stations and ticketing facilities which will demonstrate the leap in quality. “The government is contributing £150 million, and we are pleased to get its endorsement as a demonstration of its support for the project,” Garner says.

Nexus has submitted the business case for

➺ 27

feature transport

phase two, which begins in 2010, and should have a response by the turn of the year. “We are asking for the Metro to be treated like other transport services and demonstrating that we can provide value for money by going to the market and testing against the public sector comparator,” Garner explains.

Phase three will also see Metro carriages replaced, by which time the operator should have a better idea of passenger numbers. “This will depend on national transport strategy, road use and so on, so we have deferred the decision until we know more. But we are at maximum capacity at the moment and seeing steady growth so we have to build for that,” Garner says.

The changes need to be seen in the context of integrating transport systems and helping to cope with congestion, and producing the highest quality systems possible. Tyne and Wear Metro was integrated in the early 1980s, with initiatives like joint ticketing, but there is now a greater political commitment to that approach.

This is reflected in the draft local transport bill.

“In the past 20 years, Newcastle, Gateshead and Tyne and Wear have changed very much and this has triggered economic activity that means we do need a better transport system,” Garner points out.

Tyne tunnels

because the existing tunnel causes problems with traffic backing up, meaning a poor local environment. “People are concerned about the three-year construction programme,” Fenwick admits, “but they do perceive that there are long-term benefits.” Because it is difficult to get to the tunnel at the moment, sending drivers off to find alternative routes, he believes the impact of the new tunnel will be felt over a wide area.

Airport Major improvements are under way at Newcastle International Airport. A new £8 million air traffic control tower has just opened, and has been dubbed ‘the best office in the North East’ by the city’s air-traffic controllers. The 13m-tall tower has 360-degree views of Newcastle, the Tyne Valley, Northumberland and the coast. It is one of the most technologically advanced control towers in the UK. A new business park has also been proposed at the airport. It will house six three-storey office buildings around a pedestrian and landscaped square. In addition to direct access to the Metro station, the square will include retail and café facilities. At the moment the site contains a line of six oak trees which will be retained and integrated into the business park. n

In 2005, the government gave the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority (TWPTA) the go-ahead to build a second vehicle tunnel alongside the existing Tyne Tunnel. The project, called the New Tyne Crossing, is being financed and constructed by a recently appointed consortium, Bouygues Travaux Publics.

The new tunnel will run under the River Tyne between East Howdon and Jarrow. Work will start around the end of this year, and is due to finish in 2011. It will be one of the largest construction projects in the UK, and the cost for the whole project is likely to be £200-£250 million.

“We are building a new tunnel and refurbishing the existing one as part of the same project,” explains Paul Fenwick, New Tyne Crossing Project Director. “We wanted to do more with the existing tunnel because of feedback from a European wide safety survey that is conducted every two years. Although the Tyne and Wear tunnel is well managed, it was rated poor because of the age of the basic infrastructure. Our preferred bidder has come up with an idea for how to improve the tunnel and a lot of effort has gone into work on the existing tunnel.”

When the two tunnels are operating, experts anticipate a 10% increase in traffic volumes straight away, including people who currently don’t use the tunnel. “We anticipate there will be sufficient capacity for many years ahead,” says Fenwick.

The local community has supported the project

People recognise that congestion is a problem and in the Newcastle area it is getting worse 28

Below: Newcastle International Airport has made a start on its redevelopment programme with an £8 million state-ofthe-art control tower.

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feature libraries

Read all about it Boring old libraries have been rebranded as a dynamic and creative centre of local life, discovers Sarah Herbert

Above, top: Newcastle’s East End library at Byker.

Above, bottom: The Whitechapel Idea Store.

Top right: The interior

30

of Peckham Library, which has been such a hit with the community.

Opposite: inside Whitechapel Idea store.

Things have moved on since the days of card indexes, fierce ladies in tweed and date stamps. For some time now, libraries, sometimes also known in modern parlance as ‘ideas stores’ or ‘learning centres’, are designed to act as the central hub of communities, with internet access, cafés, careers advice and access to council services. So perhaps it’s not surprising that, according to a survey by the DCMS in May 2007, called Taking Part, 19.1 million adults in England had attended a library in the past year, with 50% of those visitors going to a library at least once a month, or that the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) states there were 290 million visits to libraries in 2006.

From a regeneration perspective, libraries have a key role to play in bridging the gap between the information-rich and the informationpoor. They give everybody, including disadvantaged groups, access to up-todate information, act as training centres in new technology, and provide access to the information society. They are a vital part of lifelong learning, acting as key education and training resources.

According to Framework for the Future (the government’s vision for public libraries in England being implemented by MLA), “libraries are public anchors for neighbourhoods and for communities. They provide a

sense of stability. For the majority of the population, libraries are acknowledged as safe, welcoming neutral spaces open to all in the community. They attract users from across the social spectrum.”

Perhaps typifying this new, community approach to libraries is the famous Peckham Library. When it was built in 1999, in a run-down area of south London, it broke the mould of public building design, with Alsop and Stormer, the architect, creating a dynamic building which has become loved by all age groups, and has made a major contribution to both the regeneration of Peckham and growth of the community.

After intense consultation with Peckham residents, the result was a striking example of new community architecture, designed for a range of people to meet and interact. The five-storey building houses a branch library, a council advice unit, and an adult education and training advice centre. Three wood-clad pods, the most distinctive features of the library, house a children’s library, an Afro-Caribbean literature centre and a meeting space. Use of the building exceeded all expectations, with more than 500,000 visits a year two years after it opened, compared to 171,000 to the original tatty prefab library, with book loans up from 80,000 to 317,000. It is also filled with schoolage users after school.

Light reading The Commission for the Built Environment said of the library, in its report Better Public Buildings, “It has not only increased local usage of library services dramatically; it has also contributed to an astonishing change in how a disadvantaged area in south London is perceived. Combined with major programmes of housing improvement, the bold architectural statement made by the library has helped to redefine Peckham and kick-start regeneration. Now seen as a vibrant neighbourhood with a thriving art scene, it has enjoyed an influx of cafés, bars and businesses in recent years.”

The Peckham example typifies the 21st century approach to libraries, reaching out to the community, encouraging access to knowledge and embracing the local population’s diversity. Another disadvantaged local authority, Tower Hamlets in East London, has taken this idea maybe further than any other, creating a network of seven state-of-theart ‘idea stores’, all in local shopping centres. As well as a library, each building offers a range of adult education classes, career support, training, creche, meeting areas, cafés and arts and leisure pursuits.

Before any plans were made, the council undertook extensive consultation.

The message was stark: residents wanted a high-quality, modern library service which provided a far greater range of services than at present. The survey showed that libraries are a highly

valued local service, but residents were dissatisfied with the quality, location and nature of the service they were getting. The Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport launched the Idea Stores concept in April 1999, at a time when the national trend has been for decreasing funding.

The first Idea Store opened in May 2002 in Bow, followed by one in Whitechapel in September 2005 and Canary Wharf in March 2006. All seven will be built where people will use them – and can get to them easily, and will be open seven days a week.

Today’s libraries make important additions to their neighbourhoods in the physical sense, too. Both the Peckham Library and the Ideas Stores are striking, unusual buildings, with innovative design by young, upcoming architects. Such new, iconic buildings can transform the image of an area, creating positive new perceptions of places previously associated, perhaps, with despair and decline, and becoming a symbol of the area. And the effect can be enhanced via events, marketing campaigns and festivals, which can all help change the perception, and raise the aspirations of, an area.

A community’s pride in its library can only be helped by its public reception: the Peckham Library won architecture’s equivalent of the Oscars, the Stirling Prize, in 2000, and the Ideas Stores have won plaudits from the Civic

Iconic buildings can transform the image of an area, creating positive new perceptions

➺

Newcastle City Library is being rebuilt, in a £40.2 million PFI scheme involving Newcastle City Council and Kajima Partnerships. Designed by local architect Ryder, and built by Tolent, the new six-storey building will be constructed on the Princess Square site, where the old library used to be. Demolition finished in July this year, so the library is just starting on site, and is scheduled for completion in March 2009. It will open to the public in June that year.

At 8,000sq m, it will be the largest library between Leeds and Edinburgh. Its services will include, as well as lending and study areas, a 185-seat performance space, which can be reconfigured as three separate meeting rooms, along with changing rooms and creche, all on the second floor (Princess Square level), which can be isolated from the rest of the building for outof-hours use.

Up on the third floor an age-zoned children’s area includes a bespoke design storytime area, homework area, and children’s activities room, along with a music and multi-media area. The fourth floor is given over to digital information, with public access PCs and a digital theatre, while the fifth is the staff area. Finally, level six houses local and family history and a public viewing area. The library has two entrances – on the ground floor on Bridge Street, and on the first floor on Princess Square.

“The previous library was in a poor structural state, and would have cost nearly as much to refurbish to today’s standards as it would have done to rebuild,” says Tony Durcan, Newcastle City Council’s head of ibraries. “The new library is giving us more space for traditional collections, and for popular areas of research, such as cultural heritage and family history.

“On the other end of the technology scale, we’re also trying to respond to the latest trends in music and film. Rather than videos or CDs, should we be doing everything by download?

How will technology change over time? And how can we accommodate this? The infrastructure needs to be as flexible as possible.”

The library will also act as a piece of public art. Kathryn Hodgkinson’s large-scale images etched on to the glass cladding will, on closer inspection, reveal themselves to be quotations by local people on what makes them happy, what they fear, what they would change and what gives them hope.

The PFI finance will also pay for a new library at High Heaton. Work is due to start this summer and the new building will open next year. It will have a community room for local groups, internet access computers and a children’s library, and a customer enquiry point for council services. n

31

Right: Inside the Whitechapel Idea Store.

Trust and the Academy for Sustainable Communities. Away from London, too, library design has won awards.

The new Jubilee Library in Brighton won the Prime Minister’s better public building award in 2005 for “the way it works on three levels – as a fabulous building in its own right, as a sustainable public building (with an estimated 50% reduction in carbon) and, most importantly, as an efficient and accessible library for our 250,000 residents and visitors to Brighton,” according to Brighton and Hove City Council.

But good design is, of course, about 32

more than winning awards. It also reflects how today’s libraries work. In Newcastle, for example, the 1960s concrete library is being replaced by a much more transparent, accessible building (see panel on previous page). As Tony Durcan, Newcastle City Council’s head of libraries, lifelong learning and culture says: “The old library’s grey concrete building just blended into the surrounding buildings. It didn’t stand out, and it was difficult to both find the entrance and see what the building actually did. It also had an elitist layout.

Visitors weren’t encouraged to explore.

The design of the new building is all about visibility and access (it meets the highest disability accessibility standards).

“We spent a lot of time working out exactly what the city and its residents needed from the new library. It’s not just about the building – developing the new city library is enabling us to work out new ways of providing services across all the city’s libraries.”

Durcan is also passionate about libraries’ valuable role in social inclusion, providing facilities for those who can’t find them anywhere else. “If you don’t have a computer, where else can you go

libraries feature

Methods of delivery have changed over the years, but the essential function of libraries hasn’t really changed since 1840

Above right: Newcastle’s Outer West library and customer service centre.

that’s free, where you can create a CV or fill out an application form?” he asks.

“Or, as a refugee or asylum-seeker, get access to advice in your own language, and keep in contact with loved ones abroad? We also play a large role in special education and adult learning.”

This all fits with the city’s current programme of combining its libraries with customer service centres (CSCs).

The Newcastle and North Tyneside Local Improvement Finance Trust Company (NNT LIFTCo) was created to deliver health centres and other public service buildings including four CSCs – in Kenton, Gosforth, the East End in Byker, and the West End in Benwell. For example, the Gosforth centre, when it opens in late 2007, will accommodate a customer service centre, library and community meeting room facilities,

giving residents access to more than 90 different council services.

While the methods of delivery have changed over the years, the essential function of libraries hasn’t really changed since the first public library was established in 1840. “It’s still all about access to reading material and information,” says Durcan, “whether electronic or on old-fashioned paper, providing study support, from reference books to e-learning facilities, and as a community resource. Libraries provide spaces for people to meet, in a neutral environment, in their own time.” n

33

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St Silas Church & Housing, Byker.

St Silas Church, which is Grade II Listed, was built in the heart of the shipbuilding community of Byker on the corner of Clifford Street and Burton Street in 1885/1886 to serve a Parish of 15,000 souls. By 2002 the Parish had declined to 4,500 souls and the congregation to about 25. The terraced streets which once surrounded the Church had been demolished; a new elevated section of the Metro railway and the Shields Road by-pass separated the Church from the new community in the Byker Wall.

The Church’s future looked unsustainable when the Parish and Byker Bridge Housing Association (BBHA) decided to collaborate to develop a brief for the Parish’s Architect Anthony Keith Architects. The Church’s objectives were to increase involvement with the surrounding community, make the most of its resources to cut its running costs and create an income for it. BBHA needed new head offices and land for housing.

They decided to lease a third of the Church to Byker Bridge Housing Association for their head offices. They wanted to create a new Worship area and a Church Hall with new kitchen and toilets. The old Church Hall, which was a late addition to the Church, would be demolished to restore the original concept and allow the land between the Church and the Metro line to be redeveloped as housing for single homeless people. The existing High Altar was to be removed and the floor level of the Nave maintained right through, to provide a less hierarchical and more flexible Worship space and a level approach for people with disabilities. New heating and lighting was required together with a PA and induction loop system.

at the West end are as simple as possible so that they do not distract from the splendour of the Nave or attempt to imitate it.

Before construction started on the housing a study was undertaken of the noise and vibration levels in the area and a specification developed from it to achieve a noise reduction greater than the standards required in the Building Regulations.

View of the new courtyard to the south of the Church.

The housing scheme which is made up of 19 bedsits and a Wardens bungalow turns its back on the noisy railway and the road and is arranged around a courtyard looking towards the Church. It is at its highest closest to the Metro on the South East side and is at its lowest on the West to allow the maximum amount of sunlight into the courtyard. It also acts as a sound barrier to reduce the noise disturbance in the Church from the by-pass and railway, services can now be held undisturbed by passing trains.

This scheme won the Lord Mayors Design Award for Refurbishment & Conservation in 2005, and the RICS Renaissance Award for Community Benefit in 2006. The scheme was also short listed for the National RICS awards in 2006 and received a Special Mention award at the RIBA Hadrian Awards in 2007.

The housing has proved very successful particularly with the residents, some stating that the housing and community have changed their lives. The Church has also seen an increase in the congregation and a welcome return of weddings and christenings being held at the Church. The new Church hall is also proving very popular and is usually fully booked providing an income for the Church.

View to the West end of the Church showing the new full height glazed screen and new kitchen and toilet accommodation.

Inside the Church a mezzanine floor was inserted in the North Aisle to double the floor area available to BBHA. This had to be designed to be reversible with minimum impact on the existing structure. The timber coffered ceiling was left exposed as a feature in the offices. The new partition wall between the Church and the new offices includes arched fire resisting windows to remind everyone using the building that it is still a place of Worship.

The division between the new Church Hall and the new Worship area is frameless glass to maintain the overall impression of the Nave as one space. The new kitchens and toilets inserted

Contractor: Dorin Construction Hadrian House, Beaminster Way East, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 2ER T: 0191 214 0360 F: 0191 214 0578

Anthony Keith Architects Ltd. 19 Lansdowne Terrace, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 1HP T: 0191 213 0133 F: 0191 213 5050

Services Engineers: J Humphrey & Partners Prosperous House, Ecclestone Close, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE27 0RX T: 0191 268 1332 F: 0191 268 5851

E: mail@akarchitects.net W: www.akarchitects.net

Quantity Surveyor: Todd Milburn Partnership 150 New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2TE T: 0191 230 2100 F: 0191 230 2101

Project update An in-depth look at the regeneration projects that are shaping Newcastleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s renaissance

36

map project

page 47 4th Yard

page 44 North Central

page 48 Ouseburn

page 42 Gallowgate

page 38 West End 37

feature west end

Go west A series of ambitious projects are changing the face of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s West End, from the ex-industrial heartland of Scotswood to Cruddas Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tower blocks

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THE CRUDDAS PARK TOWER blocks are a key landmark on Newcastle’s skyline, immediately visible from trains pulling into Central Station.

The 11 blocks, built in the 1960s, are now set for a £100 million redevelopment, with work due to start in 2008. Backed by Bridging NewcastleGateshead and Newcastle New Deal for Communities, the city council is working with developers Gentoo and Bellway on plans for the flagship project.

With ample green space and panoramic views, the edge-of-city-centre site has real potential for a striking development, and an enviable lifestyle for residents. “Cruddas Park is a key western gateway less than a mile from the city centre, so has huge potential as a place to live,” said Katherine Robbie, senior regeneration officer at Newcastle City Council. “The scale and nature of the redevelopment project makes it almost unique in this country.”

Project leaders anticipate a mix of private and social housing, with an

increased number of two-bedroom flats making the area attractive to a wider range of people. Major landscaping improvements will maximise the advantages of the site, while a stateof-the-art biomass heating system will help to cut carbon emissions, as well as keeping fuel bills low. A renewed shopping centre, acting as the commercial heart of Elswick, also forms a key part of the plans.

The scheme is set to go before Newcastle City Council’s executive in November. Planning permission will be applied for before the end of the year and work starts in 2008.

LOADMAN STREET, CLOSE TO Cruddas Park, is the focus of a joint venture by the council and Priority Sites. The scheme is also supported by English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation as well as the Home Group, which owns the nearby Northbourne Street site, which forms another part of the area’s regeneration programme.

The site of now-demolished housing, Loadman Street will feature a mix of family homes, flats and bungalows alongside commercial units and new green spaces. The plan includes 142 new homes on the upper area of Loadman Street and 4,600sq m of commercial space centred on the lower part of the site, while council thinking also includes a possible second phase with a further 78 homes at Northbourne Street.

Phase one of this scheme sees work starting on commercial units on the lower part of the site in mid-2008, with home building set to follow in 2009.

“The aim of the project is to create an environmentally friendly development where people will want to live and work,” says Andrew Phillips, regeneration officer at Newcastle City Council.

Careful traffic planning on the pedestrian- and cycle-friendly site will keep speeds down, and a green area running right through the site links it to the recently refurbished Elswick Park. With business space limited to

Above top: Cruddas Park, about to be transformed.

Left: One of the proposed designs.

Above: Fireworks over Cruddas Park.

➺ 39

Far left: Cruddas Park tower blocks, set for redevelopment.

Near left: Plans for the Loadman Street area.

Right: Scotswood is planning for a 15-year regeneration project.

With ample green space and stunning panoramic views, the edge-of-city-centre site has real potential office and light industrial work which is concentrated on the lower part of the site, noise pollution for local residents will be virtually eliminated. Loadman Street, like the adjacent Cruddas Park development, will provide a mixed community, with 25% of homes on the site designated ‘affordable’, and opportunities for shared equity purchasing. An additional 15% will be low-cost housing (under £120,000) with the remaining 60% sold at market value.

The scheme will achieve several environmental and sustainability targets including a very good BREEAM rating for the commercial space and level three on the code for sustainable homes. It’s also linked to the planned redevelopment of Benwell’s Whitehouse Enterprise Centre and Riversdale Way in Lemington, led by Newcastle City Council and Priority Sites.

The four sites will provide a combined 23,500sq m of commercial space, redevelop 10.5ha of brownfield land, deliver 220 homes and create over 800 jobs. The four-year project will see total investment by Priority Sites of more than £30 million.

UP THE HILL from Elswick are the terraces of Arthur’s Hill, a rapidly improving area with rising property prices to match. Like Cruddas Park, Arthur’s Hill has benefited from the £55 million New Deal for Communities programme, now in the eighth year of its 10-year 40

programme. A rate of improvement set in place by a series of earlier housing projects is now accelerating, thanks to the Living Places initiative, a regeneration scheme which is also taking in nearby Wingrove and Elswick Triangle.

Backed by Newcastle New Deal for Communities and Bridging NewcastleGateshead as well as the council, this facelift scheme is already well on the way to transforming frontages of 181 homes in its first phase, and is expected to increase the rate of housing market renewal in the West End. “These are the first steps in a major transformation for the area,” said Christine Cunningham, head of strategic housing at Newcastle City Council, which is leading the implementation of the project. “We’re renewing walls and railings, taking care to provide what each street needs rather than imposing a onesize-fits-all solution.

“We have focused the first phase on the streets where we can make the biggest impact, but hope to give a facelift to more than 2,500 privately owned homes in Arthur’s Hill, Elswick Triangle and Wingrove over 10 years. It’s already making a big difference.”

Project staff are taking care to respect the area’s distinctive Victorian and Edwardian streets to the extent of commissioning exact replicas of an original door canopy design made from traditional wood and slate.

Residents of Croydon Road, one

of the first streets to undergo a facelift through the scheme, have welcomed the improvements. “I’ve lived on Croydon Road for over 25 years, and this really is making it a better place for my family,” said local grandfather Abdul Mozid. “It’s a good community round here, and this will give the area a real lift.”

The scheme is complemented by an improvement plan for Stanhope Street, the commercial and community heart of Arthur’s Hill. With funding from New Deal for Communities, a sustainable strategy aims to enhance existing features through imaginative management and the installation of public art.

The Scotswood of years gone by is the stuff of Tyneside legend, world-renowned for its shipyards, heavy industry and munitions factories. Listen carefully to the black-and-white hordes around St. James’ Park on a matchday and you will even hear it namechecked in the Geordie anthem The Blaydon Races.

Now, with the pubs and factories long gone, a new Scotswood is ready to emerge. An ambitious Scotswood masterplan is set to create long-lasting, integrated regeneration based around a vibrant mixed community.

This 15-year masterplan – the ‘Renaissance of the Urban Neighbourhood’ – includes family homes, an attractive park and public spaces and high levels of sustainability.

Easy access to shops, services and

west end feature

transport have also been prioritised in a scheme whose development cost could total around £400 million.

By 2021, around 2,000 new homes are anticipated, in a range of sizes and styles, in two- or three-storey buildings, with a few four-storey buildings around the neighbourhood centre. Seventy five per cent will be family homes. The first 350 are set to form the centrepiece of the UK’s first housing expo, showcasing new standards of innovation in regeneration alongside a 12-week festival.

“We view the Scotswood Expo as a means of further developing Newcastle’s renaissance as a vibrant, sustainable and modern European city,” says Mike Cookson, the council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and transport. “More importantly, we see it as an innovative approach to address urban decline and redefine the established processes and practices of neighbourhood-making.

“Its physical legacy will establish new standards of development and act as a catalyst for the regeneration of Scotswood and the West End, addressing long-term housing market failure and creating a new sustainable neighbourhood.

“With the people of Scotswood we have put a lot of hard work into this, and I am confident we are now on the verge of creating the kinds of neighbourhoods people in Scotswood deserve, with new housing, better shops, parks, open spaces and a greener, cleaner environment.’’

Although the scheme is set to increase Scotswood’s population by 25%, existing residents have been closely involved in developing the plans alongside the council and consultants Urban Initiatives.

“We have worked on this project for seven years and it’s great to see that something is going to come out of it at long last,” said local resident Nellie Ternent. “We’ll be glad when the first bricks are laid.”

With planning permission for the 65ha site now granted, the council is looking to select a private sector partner to support delivery of the Scotswood masterplan by July 2008. n

Above: Sensitively restored Victorian and Edwardian terraces in Arthur’s Hill.

Below: As part of a pilot scheme vacant sites are being transformed into wild flower meadows prior to redevelopment.

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Office hours Newcastle’s new office quarter is taking shape, confirming Gallowgate’s place as the city’s foremost business district

42

gallowgate project

Moonglade Holding’s development on the Wellbar House site is just one of a raft of projects turning Gallowgate around.

Gallowgate, to the west of the city centre and north of the Discovery Quarter, is slowly but surely being transformed into a prime office sector. Sitting in the shadow of the city’s much-loved football stadium, its central location, and close proximity to St James’s metro station, has made it a popular option. And as it’s just a two-minute walk from the town centre, workers can easily eat out or do a spot of shopping in their lunch hour.

The district’s dramatic turnaround started with the development of Hanro’s flagship Citygate project on St James’s Boulevard. Completed in 2004, the mixed-use scheme of 1,400sq m of space across two buildings has paved the way for a wave of developments in the area, including a second scheme by Hanro, the £30 million Strawberry Place scheme.

To be completed by early 2010, it will offer 10,000sq m of office space, 900sq m of retail/office space and a 167-bed hotel across four interlinked buildings to be constructed in one phase. Adam Serfontaine, director of Hanro, expounds: “These large sites offer an opportunity to create atmosphere for large mixed-use schemes. For example the Citygate site is still busy after office hours because of its residential and retail units.”

He believes that Gallowgate’s transformation is down to the creation of St James’s Boulevard, which opened up the quarter and made it more accessible. He also points out that the

The transformation began with St James’s Boulevard, which opened up the quarter

area was dramatically strengthened by the popular Gate leisure complex and will be further encouraged by the extension and redevelopment of nearby Eldon Square (see page 17), which will bolster the west end of the city. “Gallowgate is close to three metro stations and cheek by jowl with the main shopping centre.

Newcastle is one of the only regional cities with such large development sites so close to the city centre.”

Realising the benefits of the location, Moonglade Holdings bought two development sites in Gallowgate in the early 1990s. Time Central opens its doors at the start of next year. The seven floors of office space are already pre-let, testimony, says Tim Evans at Knight Frank, to the quality of the building and its excellent location. He explains: “Time Central sold itself, with good floor plates and a great location. Work is close to completion, and people are impressed with the quality of the finish. Gallowgate is critical to Newcastle’s growth. Its sheer scale means it will become one of the prime business quarters of the city, incorporating offices as well as the university and science associated elements of the nearby Science Central site.”

Moonglade Holding’s second project will replace Wellbar House with a 10storey modern office block with more than 10,000sq m of office space and retail elements on the ground floor. The demolition of Wellbar House is under way and work is due to start onsite before the end of the year, the project should be complete by the end of 2009.

The latest scheme in Gallowgate to get planning permission will form a gateway to the city’s Science Central development. Downing Plaza, designed by internationally acclaimed architect Ian Simpson, will provide 60,000sq m of mixed-use space across six new buildings, with 20,000sq m of office accommodation, a 200-bed luxury hotel, a 462-bed student village, 24 apartments, a retail element and public spaces. The site will also include a new highway system linking the Gallowgate and Science Central areas and four levels of basement parking to accommodate up to 190 vehicles. The first phase of the development is due for completion in 2009 and negotiations are already in place with potential commercial tenants, including the preferred operator of the hotel, which was about to be named as Renaissance went to press. n 43

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We got the overwhelming impression it was time for change. The question was what form that change should takeâ&#x20AC;?

44

north central project

About turn One of the city’s most deprived areas is about to undergo a transformation that will upgrade the area’s image and residents’ lives, alongside the buildings

The North Central area’s regeneration will focus on improving non-physical elements as well as the physical redevelopment.

Newcastle’s far-reaching regeneration programme is facing the ultimate test as it embarks upon a regeneration plan for the North Central area, which includes one of the UK’s most deprived areas. The regeneration plan by Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH), commissioned by Newcastle City Council, is due to be published in November. “We got the overwhelming impression from people on the ground that it was time for change. The question was what form that change should take,” explains Mark Hosea of LSH. The regeneration plan will focus on encouraging greater interaction between the four main districts – Cowgate, Kenton Bar, Blakelaw and North Kenton – through pedestrian and cycle routes, and improving access to shops and services, creating community cohesion.

The area is currently split up by roads and, as Paul Whiston, regeneration manager at Newcastle City Council, says: “In some instances these physical barriers have become larger than life.”

Cowgate is an area of severe deprivation. There are very few owneroccupiers: even though 130 council properties were granted to private owners in a bid to create a greater mix of residents, only 20-30 of them are now owned by the occupier. The majority are owned by absentee landlords and have a high turnover of tenants.

The local primary school has been in special measures for a number of years and is facing closure, so most of the estate’s children travel to schools that are performing well outside of the area.

“Improving the image and reputation of the area will have a multitude of

impacts,” Hosea believes. “People want lots of different things from the regeneration, but above all the removal of the stigma many of the estates suffer.”

There are several developments already planned or on site across the North Central area. The transformation is kicking off with the demolition of flats at Blakelaw, affordable housing being built at Hillsview in Kenton Bar and a new high school (part of the Building Schools for the Future programme) in Kenton set to open in September 2009.

Traffic problems are also being addressed.

Cowgate was being used as a rat run, but since the council blocked the route, traffic levels have been much reduced.

Cowgate had already been the focus of two regeneration programmes. It was one of the first in the country to undergo the government’s 10-year diversification process in the early 1990s, but unfortunately the regeneration wasn’t a success. That is why the council is taking a fresh approach.

LSH’s report on strategies for the new scheme says: “Lessons were learnt from the previous regeneration programme.

There is a need to develop an overarching area strategy in partnership with the community and key stakeholders.”

Residents will need to be convinced that things will be done differently this time. “We’re aware of previous regeneration attempts in Cowgate – but they didn’t address the real issues or look at the bigger picture,” says Hosea. “It is time for wholesale change, looking at the physical and non-physical elements, as opposed to piecemeal change.”

In the regeneration plan – which will establish a fresh blueprint for the area

– great importance is being placed on the non-physical regeneration to overcome the deep-seated problems and improve the environment, image and atmosphere.

In the words of Paul Whiston: “The transformation of the North Central area is about more than just putting up new homes and schools, it requires a raft of measures to change the culture and turn the area around.”

Indeed, the LSH report notes that ‘the issues are more complex [than a typical housing market renewal area] and the challenges require setting out to ensure the focus is on solving these problems as opposed to simply facilitating a development framework… Regeneration of the area needs to have the current population at its heart. It needs to be progressed through them and it needs to empower them to overcome the many social, economic and environmental challenges the area faces.’

“There is widespread recognition that there are definite issues which need addressing, and feedback has been very positive throughout the consultation stages to date,” says Hosea. “The key issue is the need for a combination of physical approaches (better signage, new or refurbished housing, planting trees and installing cycle routes) and addressing non-physical issues of community capacity, building and empowerment, neighbourhood management, youth provision, education, health and crime.”

LSH’s regeneration plan will incorporate existing schemes, which Hosea claims “gives us something to build on and add momentum to our programme, plus it’s good that residents can see things happening already”. n

45

Welcome to the new capital of Britain.

NewcastleGateshead is a world-class place to live,

learn, visit and work. Already we have been named by The Times newspaper as its ‘new capital of Britain’.

But at NewcastleGateshead Initiative our aim is to further increase economic, employment and social benefits through culture-led tourism.

LIVE: Things are really happening here. We’re staging world-class events, creating art galleries, building music centres and commissioning celebrated works of art.

Recently, The Sunday Times named the Angel of the North one of the ‘Seven Wonders of Britain’. The Sage Gateshead has also been named the ‘most exciting music venue in Britain’ by The Times.

LEARN: Our city is not only home to two world-class universities and an international centre for genetic research, but has also been awarded the status of ‘Science City’.

VISIT: We’re No. 1 for nightlife, according to the Rough Guide to Britain. But it’s not just as a party city that we’re world renowned. NewcastleGateshead was named UK Capital of the Arts in a survey conducted for TV Channel Artsworld. Readers of Condé Nast Traveller magazine voted us the easiest UK destination to get around, and we were also voted their favourite English destination outside London.

WORK: NewcastleGateshead is the perfect destination for your business. We will be adding over 2,000 new hotel rooms over the next two to three years. We also offer lower office rents and excellent communications through airports, trains, ports and the motorway system.

For further details, please call us on +44 (0) 191 243 8800.

NewcastleGateshead.com or enquiries@ngi.org.uk

4th yard project

Convention central

One of the city’s largest central development sites is set for action as a masterplan is drawn up for its transformation

One thing Newcastle is crying out for is a dedicated convention centre. Research by Newcastle Gateshead Initiative shows that over a three-year period, 40 major events were turned down because the region didn’t have a suitable conference venue – an estimated loss of £20 million – and that a convention centre could create more than 1,000 jobs. What’s more, a study

by One NorthEast named Newcastle as the preferred location for such a facility.

Leader of the council John Shipley believes the city has a compelling case for a dedicated regional convention centre, which would boost the local economy.

One potential location for such a centre is 4th Yard, an area of approximately 25ha alongside the river at the southern end of the Discovery Quarter close to Central Station.

Newcastle City Council’s casino bid

earlier this year incorporated a plan for a conference centre on the site, and the council is still keen to pursue that avenue as part of a mixed-use project, although it is mindful of the need for retail outlets on the site to make it economically viable.

To that end, Lichfield and Partners is undertaking a planning study on behalf of the council and four principal landowners to determine the site’s potential and establish if it is a suitable location for a regional convention centre.

It will also consider the need for new highways to improve integration of the area into the city centre, as the site is currently divided by several main roads and has limited access for pedestrians and public transport facilities.

Discussions with stakeholders for the area options will take place throughout November. It is hoped the study will be complete by the end of the year. n

Research shows that a convention centre could create more than 1,000 jobs 47

On the up As the Ouseburn Valley blossoms into a cultural hub, a raft of residential and office developments are springing up to accommodate its latest converts

Park life The redevelopment of Ouseburn is not all about new buildings. The valley’s parks and gardens are being transformed by Mosedale Gillatt Architects as part of the Ouseburn Parks Restoration programme. The £4.5 million project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund.

The 68 hectares of parks and open spaces, including Jesmond Dene and Heaton Park, will be renovated to enhance visitors’ enjoyment of the area’s many green open spaces.

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The Ouseburn Valley’s transformation is happening apace.

Developers are lining up to get involved in the area’s regeneration, which has seen it grow as a creative and cultural hub for the city. With a new Hotel du Vin, waterside apartments, art studios and galleries, the area is flourishing and, judging by the collection of landmark buildings planned for the area, it seems that things can only improve.

The increasing number of residential developments in Ouseburn is testament to the neighbourhood’s growing popularity. High-profile residential developer George Wimpey is currently waiting to find out whether its latest proposals for the Ouseburn Gateway site on the east quayside have gained planning permission.

One residential development definitely set to boost the ongoing revival of the Ouseburn Valley is Metier’s £24 million Tyne Square leisure and residential scheme on the site of the former Ice Factory. The main building on the plot has been demolished and surrounding industrial units are being levelled, so work on site is set to start before the end of the year.

Tyne Square will have a 10-storey element and a six-storey riverside frontage accommodating 112 one-, two- and three-bedroom luxury riverside apartments and double-height penthouse.

There will be 270sq m of retail providing a convenience store and 675sq m of leisure space for bar, café and restaurant uses. Completion is planned for 2009.

Metier has been involved in the regeneration of Ouseburn for a number of years. Its first development in the area, Lime Square, was completed in May 2006. “We are committed to the continued rebirth of the Ouseburn Valley. It is such a special place,” says Aidan Murphy, director at Metier. “It has an energy and vibe that is unique

because of the district’s creative influence.

Tyne Square will be the catalyst for the valley to reach its full potential. It’s such a fantastic location and will continue to strengthen as a destination.

“Tyne Square will build on the success of Lime Square, which was well received in the marketplace,” explains Murphy.

“It will reflect a fresh and innovative approach that fosters the same level of quality space and design as Lime Square.”

In the Shieldfield area Metnor is seeking planning permission for the first phases of Portland Green, a mixed-use development with office space, retail and residential elements across two buildings due to complete early 2009. Discussions with planners about the details of the later phases are at an advanced stage.

The mix of uses – retail, restaurants and residential – will bring the area to life and ensure it remains busy after office hours.

In keeping with the Ouseburn Valley’s entrepreneurial ethos almost 3,700sq m of the new office space will be for small companies. The other building in phase one will offer 3,720sq m for a single occupier or split into different levels.

Metnor aims to achieve an excellent rating against the BREEAM system with passive ventilation systems, green roofs, recycling plant, grey water systems and earth duct ventilation, and is hoping that the green spirit will extend to car sharing.

The 3ha development will link the northern end of the Ouseburn to the city centre and create new public access routes through the site for pedestrians, vehicles and cyclists. Architect Faulkner Browns designed the development to knit together two parts of the city, according to architect Paul Rigby. “The development’s shape is driven by the need to link and connect,” he says, and hopes the masterplan will help “transform the area into a necessary and vital part of the city, a keystone for the regeneration of this part of Newcastle”. n

ouseburn project

“The Ouseburn Valley has an energy and vibe that is unique because of the district’s creative influence”

Metnor’s mixeduse Portland Road development will transform the area into a ‘necessary and vital part of the city’.

49

For more on Newcastleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regeneration, contact Mick Firth: mick.firth@newcastle.gov.uk 0191 211 5627

50

Making big changes

transport feature

to homes in Newcastle

Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) is the arms length management organisation responsible for looking after Newcastle's 31,000 council homes.

Our £600m modern homes programme has seen improvements to over 14,000 homes in Newcastle so far. The investment we are making means big changes to accommodation like The Spinney.

A new community hub for older people Residents at the high rise complex, which contains 98 one and two bedroom flats, now have a new community hub.

YHN has added a hairdressers, a new laundry room and even an internet café for home banking and shopping.

Residents at the Spinney can also benefit from a range of Telecare equipment provided by YHN’s Community Care Alarm Service. The equipment gives older and vulnerable people a vital link with the outside world in case of emergency and helps them to make their home, a home for life.

Community Care Alarm Service The service supplies a range of equipment including fall sensors worn on a belt or waist band, bed sensors, pill dispensers and much more. This equipment is available to all vulnerable people in Newcastle from as little as 45p a day.

The Service works in partnership with other organisations to provide Telecare and Mobile Warden Services to their vulnerable clients, 24 hours, 365 days of the year.

For information or to find out how the Community Care Alarm Service team can help you or your clients call 0191 278 8699 or visit www.yhn.org.uk

Supporting Regeneration 51

www.yhn.org.uk

Building a new generation of homes Yuill Homes has a track record of delivering award-winning partnership schemes across the North East. Imaginative master planning and practical solutions have led to established successful communities combining residential, commercial and community developments.

For more information call 01429 266620 or visit www.yuillhomes.co.uk