walker riverside:
with 2,200 new homes planned over the next 15 years, walker riverside will be transformed into a vibrant mixed-use, mixed-tenure community just two miles from the city centre.
Dominated by social housing, increasing levels of dereliction and dwindling local amenities, Walker Riverside has recently been an area in decline. Yet this rather negative depiction belies many of the East End neighbourhood’s strengths, such as its location just two miles from the city centre, strong family and community networks and access to lots of open, if currently under utilised, public space. There is also, as the name suggests, Walker’s waterfront location. Of course, some might argue (and it would be difficult to contest) that its greatest strength is the £525 million mixed-use regeneration project that will transform Walker into a popular mixed-tenure neighbourhood. As Peter Aviston, Newcastle City Council’s corporate project manager, points out the scheme has the long term commitment of the public and private sectors. “At the moment, Walker offers limited choice,” he observes. “Over the next 15 years housing, shops, schools, transport, education and health services will improve to create a vibrant local economy. Many people who grew up in the area would like to stay, but with very little diversity in housing tenure they move elsewhere.” The Walker Riverside Partnership (see panel) plans to reverse Walker’s population loss, which has seen resident numbers fall from 15,000 to 13,000 during the past decade. If that trend continues the population could be down to just 10,000 by 2015, putting the viability of services such as a post office at risk. The Partnership is taking a holistic approach to the regeneration of Walker Riverside. As well as constructing 2,200 new homes (almost 80 per cent of which will be for sale), the heart of a revitalised Walker Riverside will be a new local centre with a primary school, retail, leisure and community facilities. A new primary healthcare centre is planned, while accommodation will be made available to community initiatives such as parent and toddler groups. Walker Riverside Park, which is currently perceived to be dangerous, disconnected and uninspiring, will be transformed to offer a variety of activities and
right: showhome in the cambrian development below: new communities at walker road east
environments for the entire community. A series of “green fingers” are proposed to link the park to the core of the Walker Riverside area. Three “early action areas” – the Cambrian estate, the Western Gateway and Walker Road East – are now under development. First residents will arrive at the Cambrian estate’s 143 new homes this summer. Places for People is working with Bellway Homes and Enterprise 5 Housing Association to deliver affordable homes for sale and rent. Phase one (a) has 29 homes for rent developed by Enterprise 5 with funding from the Housing Corporation and Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder Bridging NewcastleGateshead. Phase one (b), with 27 units for private sale by Bellway Homes, will be onsite in September. The rest of the Cambrian will be built over the next three years with an eventual tenure mix of 57 per cent private and 43 per cent affordable housing. “What most attracted us to Walker Riverside,” says Peter Davison, development manager of Bellway Homes, “was firstly that the scale of the proposals are bold enough to be genuinely effective in the long term transformation of a part of Newcastle which is experiencing real decline. Secondly, to rise to the challenge of bringing not only high quality new homes but also training, employment and investment.” The new-look Cambrian already has the approval of the local community following the opening of two show homes last year. “They have played a vital role in demonstrating to residents the type and quality of homes they can look forward to,” says Anne Mulroy, director of Bridging NewcastleGateshead. The second early action area is the Western Gateway, which marks the entry point to Walker from the city centre. Around 250 homes will be built overlooking the Tyne, with views back to the Quayside and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Places for People is developing Western Gateway with a potential tenure mix of 70 per cent private to 30 per cent affordable, a substantial proportion of which will be available for shared ownership. 341 35