The time has come for people to have their say on what's needed on Newcastle's Quayside. As huge transformations continue across the city, NE1 has turned its attention to the city's waterfront, teaming up with world-leading architects, Gehl, to develop a vision for this iconic area that is shaped by the public's wants and desires. A consultation exercise has been launched to gather public views and ideas on what could be done to transform the Quayside now and for future generations.
The area has been on NE1’s radar since the company launched in 2009. The Quayside is the jewel in the city’s crown and now is the perfect time to bring the area into focus. With £750 million of development planned for the north and south banks of the river over the next five to ten years, it is beholden on us to ensure that the public realm keeps pace with this investment and development, and that we seize the opportunity to develop a bold and ambitious vision for the Quayside, which improves the area for years to come.
Who better to help the city reimagine and plan a future for Newcastle’s iconic Quayside, than the world-leading architects for ‘place making’, Gehl Architects? With a stellar track record of city transformations across the globe, Gehl have been appointed to work with the people of Newcastle, local businesses and other stakeholders to help map out a vision for the area. The aim is to shape a plan that is individual, and authentic to the area’s history, geography, architecture and neighbourhoods but most of all, one that reflects the hopes and dreams of the local community.
Gehl excels in bringing places to life and creating cities that people want to live and spend time in. They have delivered visionary transformations in Copenhagen and in Melbourne, while their work in New York with NYCs Department of Transport (DOT) paved the way for pedestrianising Times’ Square. We are delighted that we are now working with them and the people of Newcastle to deliver an ambitious plan for the Quayside and how it could be transformed.
The starting point for this exciting project is a major fact-finding exercise and public consultation programme that launched at the beginning of January. Starting with an online questionnaire to garner a wide range of views, ideas, and wish-lists from the public and major stakeholders on the future development of the Quayside. Following the survey, Gehl will run a series of workshops with residents, businesses, and other major stakeholders to explore the themes and ideas identified. They will report on their findings in early spring, identifying the key themes for how the area can evolve in the future.
Maximising the potential of Newcastle’s Quayside and its waterfront has always been one of our key priorities and we have channelled a significant amount of effort and focused activations in this area over the years, from the creation of NE1’s Newcastle City Marina, to our much-loved summer activity programmes including the Quayside Seaside and last summer’s more extensive, linear park with light installations, artwork, and furniture, spanning a one kilometre stretch of the Quayside. The stunning Laser Light City display from award-winning light artist, Seb Lee-Delisle over the New Year period was another of our initiatives designed to showcase the area and demonstrate the Quayside’s potential, as well as giving a flavour of how the area could look permanently.
We know that the planned investment for the Quayside over the next decade will transform the area, but we want to ensure that the public realm, the spaces in between the buildings, keep pace with the commercial regeneration. It is the civic spaces that stitch amazing developments together and we need to think and plan to ensure that the Quayside, in its entirety, is equipped for the future. We need to be bold, ambitious and visionary and we need ideas that position Newcastle’s Quayside among the best waterfront destinations in the world. We already rank highly and have some of the best natural assets in our iconic views, architecture old and new, and our bridges, all that’s needed now is ambition and to set our sights on transforming the area for the future.
Everyone has their own thoughts and views on what we love, and what could be better about Newcastle’s Quayside. Now is the time to share them. We want to hear from as many people as possible about what they want to see on the Quayside, and we want people to be passionate, bold, and ambitious. We are excited by the possibilities that the Quayside presents.
The Quayside is an iconic location that is recognised the world over and has all the hallmarks for success, but there is still huge untapped potential. An important next step is to strengthen the waterfront and create a Quayside that is liveable, accessible, and better connected.
Gehl’s international perspective and experience will help tease out and define the city’s aspirations, ambitions, and views and then go on to develop a unique vision for the Quayside. It’s an exciting time and we are looking forward to working with Gehl and the people of Newcastle to help articulate what the future will look like.