Permission has been granted today (3rd February) for the redevelopment of a 19 acre Tyneside site which has stood unused and semi derelict for over 25 years.
Gateshead Council’s planning committee approved proposals for 300 new homes on the former freight sidings site, off the Felling Bypass.
The move means the ambitious and complex proposal has cleared another hurdle on the way to becoming one of the biggest projects taken on by Gateshead Regeneration Partnership (GRP) – a venture involving the council, regeneration and house building specialist Vistry Partnerships and housing provider, Home Group.
The plans include a wide variety of properties to buy and rent, including 60 apartments in three blocks, and 240 two, three and four bedroomed homes. The layout also accommodates a community hub and well-designed landscaping and open areas, allowing access through the site for pedestrians and cyclists.
Around 45 of the proposed new homes would be allocated for affordable rent – through Home Group – with around 100 more available for private rent through one of the nation’s leading providers and 155 homes would be for market sale, through Vistry Partnerships North East’s housebuilding division, Linden Homes.
The new homes would all meet Building for Life, Code for Sustainable Homes level 3 and Lifetime Homes standards – meaning they would be suitable for all, including those of restricted mobility and can be adapted as people’s needs change. They would also have much larger rooms, higher levels of energy efficiency and greater environmental performance than the average new build home.
Councillor John Adams, Cabinet Member for Housing at Gateshead Council said: “This decision brings our aim of creating a vibrant and sustainable community close to the heart of Gateshead another step closer. This is a fantastic town centre site, but one which had a lot of contamination and needed a lot of work to bring back into use. There are still many pieces of the jigsaw to complete but we are sure that our ambitious plans to deliver high quality housing will play a big part in supporting the revitalisation of central Gateshead.”
Sean Egan, Managing Director with Vistry Partnerships North East, added: “The old freight depot site offers a unique opportunity to establish a housing lead regeneration project close to the centre of the town. I’m confident the homes we want to create here will not only bring new people to the area but prove a popular choice with locals – as the partnership’s award winning project in Saltwell* has done.”
* Trilogy I was named as the country’s Best Regeneration Project of more than 71 homes at the 2018 Inside Housing Awards.
For more information, please email: paul@persuasion-pr.com
