By Stephen Patterson, Chief Executive at NE1 Ltd
What’s next for Newcastle – 2025 and beyond? 2024 has been a year of significant change – regionally, nationally and internationally. We’ve welcomed a new Mayor for the region, a new Government for the country and internationally a new president for the United States.
Closer to home, in 2024 Newcastle has seen many of the city’s transformational building projects coming to fruition or moving forward at pace – the Helix, Pilgrim Street and a raft of new buildings announced for the Stephenson Quarter.
All these developments will have a monumental impact on the city and have been years in the making. It is exciting to see them progressing rapidly, and we warmly welcome the new business they will bring to the city, the jobs they will create and secure, and the opportunities they will generate, but their progress raises the question, what next?
Large-scale developments like these take time and vision, when they move into the construction phase we must have a pipeline of ideas and opportunities to keep Newcastle on this positive trajectory. Cities need to evolve and develop constantly or risk being left behind.
Thankfully, we have the Gateshead Conference and Exhibition Centre on the immediate horizon. This much-vaunted and gamechanging development is an absolute must for the region, and we need to see spades in the ground quickly to make this vision a reality.
In another development and another dimension, we should thank our lucky stars that Northumbria University has secured £50 million worth of funding to create the world-leading North East Space Skills and Technology Centre, NESST, in the city. NESST is forecast to create over 350 jobs and boost the region’s economy by more than £260 million over the next 30 years, as well as jet-propelling the UK’s space sector from here in the north east. Consider the opportunities this will create for the region’s youth.
Another of our world-leading educational institutions, Newcastle University, is leading another major city-centre development with the visionary regeneration of a 29-acre brownfield site in the west of the city on the former Newcastle General Hospital site.
Here the plan is to create a Health Innovation Neighbourhood to build on the city’s already world-famous research into ageing and living well, with a centre that combines intergenerational living, with leisure, learning and employment all in one place.
World-class innovation is in Newcastle’s DNA, and as a city, we’re building on these historical foundations for the future with plans like the new Neighbourhood, which are truly worldclass and world-leading. The future of global health and ageing will be spearheaded by and from Newcastle, exactly where the city should be, at the forefront.
Across Newcastle, major pockets of redevelopment are also happening. On Newbridge Street, the locally-owned Gainford Group is planning a 37-storey, mixed-used development incorporating a hotel, housing and leisure complex, all situated in what will be the region’s tallest building. The development is long-awaited and will create up to 500 jobs during the skyscraper’s construction and ample job opportunities when the development is complete. Combined with Northumbria University’s NESST development across the road, they will completely transform the eastern gateway to the city.
One of the final pieces in Newcastle’s transformation is increasing the number of residents in the city centre. Building homes and creating city centre communities is much needed and will boost the local economy, hard-wiring them into the city. Residents need facilities and amenities, and their presence and purchasing power help reinvigorate high streets.
Over 3,000 homes are earmarked for the combined Forth Yards and Utilita Arena sites. The development received a welcome boost recently, with £5 million in funding granted for reparation works on the site. It is hugely positive to finally see progress, and hopefully, now with this new impetus and cash injection, the site’s redevelopment will proceed unhindered, quickly delivering homes for local people, combined with shops, green spaces and excellent transport links.
Transport and infrastructure are crucial and need to keep pace with the monumental change and building happening across the city and wider region, that’s why we wholly endorse plans to reopen the Leamside Line and Washington Metro Loop. Transport links into and across the region must be improved; public transport must be kept affordable and accessible for all.
With the scale of residential and commercial development along the banks of the Tyne, the region will need to look at the Tyne Valley development plans as a whole and seriously consider the potential for a ‘Tyne Clipper’ river ferry service to improve connections between communities on the banks of the river.
We have always said that to survive and prosper, Newcastle, like other major regional capital cities, must continue to evolve. Change is essential but needs to be approached and planned with equal measures of vision and caution. One notable example of this is St. James’ Park. Aspirations for the club from supporters and owners alike are ambitious, and rightly so. St. James’ Park is our Cathedral on the hill and is unique in the country and rare across Europe to retain a major stadium so centrally in the city it represents. The stadium must remain at the heart of the city while expanding to deliver a fan experience commensurate with its position as a top-tier Premier League club.
With all these developments happening across Newcastle, we now need to take this golden opportunity to reset and refocus our ambitions for the long term. The plans for 2025- 2028 are significant and impactful. They will change the face of our city, but what comes next?
History will not look favourably on us if we put our feet up and coast. Instead, it is time to put our foot down and accelerate plans that will underpin the city’s future for the next 10-15 years.
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