Heading north

An eco-village, business parks, swimming pool, creative quarters and BoHo zones are all currently on One NorthEast’s dynamic regeneration portfolio.

In County Durham, plans are progressing for the Eastgate Renewable Energy Village – an eco-village on a redundant former cement works that will demonstrate best practice in sustainability and create 350 jobs.
Durham Tees Valley Airport is continuing to expand with new flights and the way has also been cleared for plans to create a new business park, hotel and pub/restaurant.

In the Tees Valley, the £14.2m Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art – Mima – celebrated its first birthday in January receiving high praise and exceeding visitor expectations.

One NorthEast approved over £7m towards nearly £17m to the creation of the nearby BoHo Zone – creative quarters which will create 27 businesses and 283 jobs. This project complements the wider Digital City initiative where work is underway on the Institute of Digital Innovation and the Centre for Creative Technologies – a £21m development at the University of Teesside.

It is an exciting time for the Tees Valley with the ongoing redevelopment at Middlehaven – a mixed-use redevelopment of 100 hectares at Middlesbrough’s docks, which are ensuring that Tees Valley and North East England are at the heart of a creative and cultural renaissance.

Work is also progressing on Stockton’s riverside which will benefit from £18m public investment which could be worth £300m to the town’s economy.

One NorthEast is supporting the development of Central Park, Darlington, which involves an investment of around £170m and the creation of 2,000 jobs. The 75-acre scheme will improve the prospects for further private sector investment by redeveloping disused land.

Planning consent has been granted for the long-term ambitious Victoria Harbour scheme on the prestigious Hartlepool waterfront site and will bring significant regeneration to the town – providing at least 2,500 jobs.

In Northumberland, regeneration proposals for Blyth Town Centre and Quayside are underway with the demolition of semi-derelict buildings. It forms part of the overall plan to transform the town making it an attractive option for inward investment.

Ashwood Business Park, near Ashington, was officially opened for business when a new sculpture ‘Far and Beyond’ took pride of place at the entrance of the £5m development illustrating the current renaissance of south east Northumberland.

Consultations on the future of Berwick upon Tweed have been high on the agenda with the masterplan for the Border town. The vision will secure, over the next 20 years, an economic and social transformation to make it a competitive, distinctive and well-connected town.

In Sunderland, plans for Stadium Park – working with the city council and Sunderland AFC – present the opportunity for a major mixed use gateway development, while Sunniside in the city has been transformed with high quality public areas, offices, homes and restaurants.

In recent years, Newcastle has been a hub of regeneration activity. The Newcastle Science City partnership of One NorthEast, Newcastle City Council and Newcastle University continues to make significant progress.

The former brewery site is well on its way to being cleared in one of the largest city centre regeneration projects in the country. And the appointment of London Olympics master planners EDAW as preferred master planners for Newcastle Science City is another major milestone in the project.

The creation of the City Development Company (CDC) will prove an important alliance in the effort to boost the economy of Newcastle and Gateshead.

The project is a commitment from Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Council, and One NorthEast to working together on joint plans to promote economic activity in the neighbouring centres.

The regeneration master plan for South Shields Riverside is another major project. The £500m scheme sets out an exciting vision for the redevelopment of South Shields riverside, featuring high quality housing, commercial premises and open space in a fantastic waterfront setting.