The government’s housing and regeneration agency, Homes England, have announced that they have acquired one of the biggest brownfield regeneration sites in the North East of England. The site is the largest land parcel in Forth Yards – an area primed for regeneration in Newcastle.
The agency have acquired ‘Quayside West’ with a view to building a new neighbourhood of around 1,100 homes on the site. The move will help to regenerate a small part of Newcastle as part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda in the North of England.
The site was originally being developed by Newby who revealed in 2018 their grand plans for the site. They wanted to build hundreds of homes on the land, in addition to shops, leisure facilities and restaurants to turn it into a gateway into Newcastle City Centre for young professionals and families.
However, last year, Newby announced that they had entered administration which threw the plans into serious doubt. With no other private firms stepping forward to take on the land, Homes England acquired the site to bring the project to the public sector.
An important acquisition
Peter Denton, the Chief Executive of Homes England, said:
“It’s hard to overstate the importance of this acquisition. Not only will the site deliver around 1,100 quality, sustainable new homes, but bringing Quayside West into public sector ownership will act as a catalyst for the wider regeneration of Forth Yards, a key regeneration area for the city that has been stalled for more than 20 years.
“It’s a complex, challenging brownfield site that could have a transformational impact in the city, but it needs up-front public sector intervention to unlock its full potential – and this acquisition is one of the first examples of that.
“Newcastle City Council and North of Tyne Combined Authority have a clear vision for Forth Yards, and we’re working with them and Network Rail to take a holistic approach and ensure that it delivers for the people of Newcastle.”
The challenges at Forth Yards
As Peter Denton alluded to, Forth Yards is a complex site but the potential positives seemingly outweigh the drawbacks. It is located right next to Newcastle Central Station and has the capacity for 2,500 new homes and within that, Quayside West has the capacity for 1,100 homes.
The issues relate to infrastructure and accessibility which will cost significant sums of money to alleviate. This is the main reason why no firms in the private sector elected to take the project on after Newby went into administration.
Despite that, Homes England are confident they can deliver a new neighbourhood for the city of Newcastle, something the City’s Council Leader, Nick Kemp can get on board with. In light of the announcement, Cllr Kemp said:
“Quayside West, as part of the Forth Yards site, is an exciting development with huge potential. As a former industrial site, it has been largely hidden away visible only by train as you come into the city. However, all of that is going to change.
“Now that Homes England have acquired the site, we can get on with our partners and create a neighbourhood that is truly world-class – sustainable environmentally friendly housing, green open space, walkways, cycleways, and good connectivity to the city centre and with existing communities in the west.
“As a residential-led development, it will offer a range of housing including affordable homes that will attract new families, safeguard employment and strengthen the city’s economy in the future.”
Breathing new life into the area
North of Tyne Mayor, Jamie Driscoll, is also overjoyed by the news as he believes the regeneration of Forth Yards will complement the other work being done on affordable housing in the North East. He said:
“We’re already building 1,985 new homes on brownfield land, with affordable and low-carbon housing. Building sustainable, affordable homes on unused wasteland makes a lot of sense. It’s a great way to breathe new life into old industrial sites whilst tackling the housing crisis and protecting our greenbelt.
“The Forth Yards site is a perfect opportunity to ramp up this work. By bringing this site into public ownership we can work together to create more green and affordable homes. Also, the region’s new devolution deal will mean more funding to explore brownfield sites south of the Tyne, continuing to unlock the North East’s potential.”
Homes England strikes deal for Urban Village in Newcastle
The government’s housing and regeneration agency, Homes England, have announced that they have acquired one of the biggest brownfield regeneration sites in the North East of England. The site is the largest land parcel in Forth Yards – an area primed for regeneration in Newcastle.
The agency have acquired ‘Quayside West’ with a view to building a new neighbourhood of around 1,100 homes on the site. The move will help to regenerate a small part of Newcastle as part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda in the North of England.
The site was originally being developed by Newby who revealed in 2018 their grand plans for the site. They wanted to build hundreds of homes on the land, in addition to shops, leisure facilities and restaurants to turn it into a gateway into Newcastle City Centre for young professionals and families.
However, last year, Newby announced that they had entered administration which threw the plans into serious doubt. With no other private firms stepping forward to take on the land, Homes England acquired the site to bring the project to the public sector.
An important acquisition
Peter Denton, the Chief Executive of Homes England, Said:
“It’s hard to overstate the importance of this acquisition. Not only will the site deliver around 1,100 quality, sustainable new homes, but bringing Quayside West into public sector ownership will act as a catalyst for the wider regeneration of Forth Yards, a key regeneration area for the city that has been stalled for more than 20 years.
“It’s a complex, challenging brownfield site that could have a transformational impact in the city, but it needs up-front public sector intervention to unlock its full potential – and this acquisition is one of the first examples of that.
“Newcastle City Council and North of Tyne Combined Authority have a clear vision for Forth Yards, and we’re working with them and Network Rail to take a holistic approach and ensure that it delivers for the people of Newcastle.”
The challenges at Fourth Yards
As Peter Denton alluded to, Forth Yards is a complex site but the potential positives seemingly outweigh the drawbacks. It is located right next to Newcastle Central Station and has the capacity for 2,500 new homes and within that, Quayside West has the capacity for 1,100 homes.
The issues relate to infrastructure and accessibility which will cost significant sums of money to alleviate. This is the main reason why no firms in the private sector elected to take the project on after Newby went into administration.
Despite that, Homes England are confident they can deliver a new neighbourhood for the city of Newcastle, something the City’s Council Leader, Nick Kemp can get on board with. In light of the announcement, Cllr Kemp said:
“Quayside West, as part of the Forth Yards site, is an exciting development with huge potential. As a former industrial site, it has been largely hidden away visible only by train as you come into the city. However, all of that is going to change.
“Now that Homes England have acquired the site, we can get on with our partners and create a neighbourhood that is truly world-class – sustainable environmentally friendly housing, green open space, walkways, cycleways, and good connectivity to the city centre and with existing communities in the west.
“As a residential-led development, it will offer a range of housing including affordable homes that will attract new families, safeguard employment and strengthen the city’s economy in the future.”
Breathing new life into the area
North of Tyne Mayor, Jamie Driscoll, is also overjoyed by the news as he believes the regeneration of Forth Yards will complement the other work being done on affordable housing in the North East. He said:
“We’re already building 1,985 new homes on brownfield land, with affordable and low-carbon housing. Building sustainable, affordable homes on unused wasteland makes a lot of sense. It’s a great way to breathe new life into old industrial sites whilst tackling the housing crisis and protecting our greenbelt.
“The Forth Yards site is a perfect opportunity to ramp up this work. By bringing this site into public ownership we can work together to create more green and affordable homes. Also, the region’s new devolution deal will mean more funding to explore brownfield sites south of the Tyne, continuing to unlock the North East’s potential.”