Investing in space

Newcastle City Council approves new homes and work space for Elswick

The Council has approved an ambitious three year regeneration plan for Elswick which will deliver 142 quality homes and 4,600 sq m of modern commercial space.

Following extensive community and stakeholder consultation, developer guidance for the Loadman Street and Northbourne Street sites in south west Elswick has been agreed.

The guidance will provide developers and stakeholders with a high degree of certainty over the type and form of development that will be considered acceptable.

Loadman Street will feature a mix of family homes, flats and bungalows alongside commercial units and new green spaces. The new homes will be located on the upper area of the site, taking advantage of the views both up and down the Tyne Valley, with the commercial space centred on the lower part. Northbourne Street has the potential to deliver a further 78 new homes.

The development will provide a mixed community, with 25 percent of the homes being ‘affordable’ and opportunities for shared ownership. An additional 15 percent will be low-cost housing (under £120,000), with the remaining 60 percent sold at market value.

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.

Business space will also be limited to office and light industrial work, concentrated on the lower tier of the Loadman Street site, so noise pollution for local residents will be virtually eliminated.

The Council has entered into partnership with Priority Sites Limited to help deliver this project with a planning application expected in the New Year. Phase one of the scheme is set to start in the summer of 2008 on commercial units, with housing following in 2009.

Andrew Phillips, Regeneration Officer for Newcastle City Council, said: “The aim of the project is to create a well designed environmentally friendly development where people will want to live and work.”

Councillor Mike Cookson, the Council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and transport, said: “I am confident we are now on the verge of creating the kinds of neighbourhoods people deserve, with new housing, better shops, parks, open spaces and a greener, cleaner environment.”

The joint venture is supported by English Partnerships and Housing Corporation, as well as Home Group which owns the nearby Northbourne Street site which forms another part of the project.