Walker Eye Extra - Newcastle City Council

Walker Eye ExtraJanuary 2006The Newsletter for Walker RiversideUpdate on Newcastle City Councilconsultation for Walker RiversideTown cryer encourages residents togive their views on the consultation.This extra edition of Walker Eye is to update those who live, work and have an interest inthe future of Walker Riverside.As you will know, Newcastle City Council held a public consultation on the future of WalkerRiverside from 1 September to 12 October 2005 to ask people’s views on what futureregeneration activity they would like to see happen in Walker Riverside over the next 10 to15 years.The results of that consultation are included in this special edition ofWalker Eye.1

What the Major Impactoption means forWalker Riverside overthe next 15 years:Local consultation event"A new shopping,education and communitycentre on Walker Road"Improvements to theLightfoot andrefurbishment of thedisused pitches"Around 2000 new homesfor sale and rent, on vacantland and replacing olderproperties"Over £6 millioninvestment in parks andopen spaces"New primary schools"Improved bus service inthe longer termThis graph shows the percentage of people whosupported which option for Walker RiversideNo new housing or services – 4%This graph shows what percentage ofpeople in eachneighbourhood supported the Major Impact optionCambrian Dovercourt – 73%Minor Impact (Option 1) – 15%Churchwalk – 64%Moderate Impact (Option 2) – 16%Losh Terrace – 37%Major Impact (Option 3) – 21%Pottery Bank – 58%Maximum new housing and services – 42%Western Gateway – 77%No opinion – 1%Community Focus – 72%Percentage figures – respondentsThis graph shows the amount of people whosupported which option for Walker Riverside.As you can see, 22% of people supported theMajor Impact option (option 3), and a further42% of people indicated that Newcastle CityCouncil should pursue a level of regenerationthat would offer even more services,housing and improvements than thatproposed under option 3. This means a totalof almost 64% would like to see majorregeneration activity in Walker Riverside.These figures can be further broken downby neighbourhoods within Walker Riverside,showing what percentage of peoplesupported the Major Impact option or more.Areas for further workAs you can see, at a neighbourhood level,people generally agreed with the optionsoutlined under option 3.As you can see from the figures abovethere is less support and some concernaround the proposals for Losh Terrace. 60%of respondents from Losh Terrace indicatedthat they would want Newcastle City Councilto pursue a policy of no new housing orservices. However, respondents from theLosh Terrace neighbourhood would like tosee the development or improvement of theunderused allotment land to the rear of theirhouses.There has also been no clear consensus asto which school option to take forward in theChurchwalk / Cambrian Dovercourt area andmore work will be carried out with theschools themselves to come to a decision.The new primary school in the CommunityFocus area will either be on Walker Road orChalfont Road and further work will becarried out with schools in this area to decidewhich site this will be on.2

What will be included in the AreaAction Plan for the regeneration ofWalker Riverside?Looking at the plans for Church Walk.On the 15 December 2005, the Planningand Transportation sub committee ofNewcastle City Council Executive agreedthat the Area Action Plan for WalkerRiverside should be drawn up to includethe majority of proposals under option 3,where there was support from thecommunity.The information below is by neighbourhoodand for each one we have shown whichoptions will be included in the Area ActionPlan. The AAP is a planning document thatsets out the regeneration programme for thenext fifteen years and will form one of thekey documents by which applications forplanning permission will be assessed.Cambrian DovercourtTo be included in the Area Action Plan:" New townhouses on Walker Road" New housing and open space betweenWest Walker Primary School and the gasholder" Redevelop the flats and shops on the sideof Church Street" Redevelop the maisonettes onDovercourt RoadSubject to further work" Wardroper HouseChurchwalkTo be included in the Area Action Plan:" New housing at Walker baths" New housing east of Lamb Street" Redevelopment of Berry Close" Negotiations with the Cumberland Armsabout relocating it and replacing it withhousing" A new road serving Churchwalk" New housing on the corner of HexhamAvenue and Duncan Street" Redevelopment of one tower block fornew housing (exact block still to bedetermined)" New housing on the bus terminus site,but working closely with neighbouringresidents to ensure good quality localopen space and maintain privacy andresidential amenities if there is not a newschool there.Local children were entertained by a magicianat the consultation events.Community FocusTo be included in the Area Action Plan:" New townhouses on Walker Road andsouth of Readhead Drive" A new school, either adjacent to ChalfontRoad or on Walker Road" Clear five bungalows on LancefieldAvenue to create a green link to the river" Refurbish the Lightfoot Dome forcontinued sports usePottery BankTo be included in the Area Action Plan:" New houses on Walker Road" New housing near gas holder" New housing south of Evistone Gardens" New housing on the site of the women’srefuge" New housing and open space on landbetween West Walker School and the gasholder" New housing on the sites of St Anthony’sSchool and potentially the ThomasGaughan Centre, but making sure newservice buildings are fully accessible tothe local community at Pottery Bank" Selling some flats in S Anthony’s House tofund improvements" Redevelopment of Caldbeck Close andpart of Pottery Bank South for newhomes for sale and rentWestern GatewayTo be included in the Area Action Plan:" Develop on land that was allotmentsbehind Bakewell Terrace" Build new housing on land betweenWalker Road and Chatsworth Gardens" Build new housing to the rear of KingstonAvenue and improve the remaininggreen spaceThe Industrial AreaAfter the consultation process, it wasrecognised that more work needs to becarried out in the next 12 months withbusinesses and users in the Industrial Areabefore firm proposals can be drawn up andto ensure we have the right strategy for thearea.The majority of businesses did howeversupport significant improvements andinvestment in the Riverside Industrial Park.3

What happens now?Local consultation eventThe Area Action Plan will be written upand considered by Newcastle CityCouncil Executive in April 2006. If thecouncillors agree to take this AreaAction Plan forward it will go to theSecretary of State at the end of April2006, who will consider if the plan hasbeen properly produced and willachieve sustainable development andplanning in the area.After the full Council has agreed the AreaAction Plan, there will be a six weekobjection period where members of thepublic are able to request that the Secretaryof State makes changes to the Area ActionPlan if they feel that the Plan has not beenproduced in accordance with planningguidance or will not produce sustainableregeneration. Planning Aid will be on handto provide independent, professionalplanning support to those wanting to makerepresentations.In September 2006, the Secretary of Statewill appoint a Planning Inspector who willlook into any valid objections.It is expected that the Area Action Planwill be adopted by the Secretary of State inFebruary 2007, but this will not hold upwork on some of the earlier sites, includingthose along Walker Road and at theCambrian.If you would like to discuss theinformation in this newsletter or see a copyof the full report that has been written up onthe consultation period, please call into TheInformation Centre on Church Street inWalker, open 10am to 4pm Monday toFriday, or ring 0191 263 4826 - the team willbe happy to discuss this with you.New homes being built on the Cambrian Estate - this scheme will produce 143 homes for sale and rent.* Walker Eye Extra has been written by the Communications Officer for Walker Riverside on behalf of the Walker Riverside Project Board4