The formation of a new Mayoral Development Zone is set to transform North East England for generations to come by speeding up development which will bring hundreds of millions into the local economy, create thousands of jobs, and establish new communities and major housing sites.
The new Mayoral Development Zone will aim to be ‘the boldest and most ambitious mayoral development initiative in the country’ and was discussed by the North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and North East Combined Authority Cabinet at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle today as they set in motion work on the strategic project in partnership with local authorities.
The Mayoral Development Zone will cover Newcastle and Gateshead and build on work already done by Newcastle and Gateshead Councils. It will include significant projects along the banks of the River Tyne, including the Forth Yards development in Newcastle which would see the creation of 2,500 new homes, Gateshead Quays and several other sites clearly identified in the North East Devolution Deal, Trailblazer Deal and Investment Prospectus as strategically important to North East England.
By bringing this whole area together under a new, powerful, collaborative approach, the Mayor and North East Combined Authority will accelerate the transformation local people need to see and to create economic and social benefits that will last generations. The partnership model has the potential to be repeated in other parts of the North East in the future.
The Mayor has spoken at length of her desire to create high quality jobs and more opportunities for local people and has given her backing to the new method and pace of regeneration the new Mayoral Development Zone will bring. The North East Combined Authority is already working to support widespread regeneration including Sunderland Riverside and the Durham Business Innovation District among others.
Mayor Kim said: “Like many local people, I get frustrated about developments taking far too long to deliver which means we don’t fully feel the benefit of schemes as quickly as we should. This needs to change. The creation of our new Mayoral Development Zone will help to bring in major new investment and quicken development of local schemes so that we can get on with delivering our vision and bold plans to transform the North East.
“We want to boost jobs, attract new business and bring in major private sector investment to support the work we’re already doing to grow our high streets, business parks and our rural and coastal areas. We want to create better places for people to live and thrive, and this initiative will accelerate our ability to do this.
“I am confident the creation of the new Mayoral Development Zone will radically speed up the pace of development and can assure people that there will be real visible change in the coming years.”
Councillor Martin Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council said: “Gateshead is entering an exciting new phase of regeneration, with major projects now moving forward across our town centre, riverside and neighbourhoods.
“Partnership is key to this. By working closely with the North East Combined Authority and Newcastle City Council, we can go further and faster in creating good jobs and building high-quality homes. This will not only strengthen Gateshead’s economy and communities, but also give residents, businesses and investors clear confidence that Gateshead is moving forward with ambition.
“The improvements we are driving will make a real difference to everyday life - more and better jobs, thriving local businesses, improved transport, enhanced public spaces, better housing choices and a stronger economy that benefits everyone.
“Momentum is already clear, with major programmes under way. We fully endorse the ambition of working together in partnership to achieve lasting impact. This is just the beginning of a bold and visible programme of regeneration that will leave a lasting legacy for the North East and its communities.”
Leader of Newcastle City Council, Cllr Karen Kilgour, said: “Newcastle is a growing city that is undergoing major transformation with its development sites such as Helix, Stephenson Quarter and Pilgrim Place.
“The Government’s recent announcement of £120m for the Forth Yards site has really put Newcastle’s most significant development site firmly in the spotlight. It has the potential to transform the city’s economy over the next 15-20 years and attract even more investment to the city.
“Shaping and delivering that investment for the benefit of all our residents requires a new approach and by working in partnership with Gateshead Council and the North East Combined Authority we can achieve so much more together in going further and faster in job creation and building more homes that we know Newcastle and our residents need, and contributing to the national effort to build 1.5m new homes by the end of the parliament.”
The area to be the focus of the regeneration and investment proposals is yet to be formally defined but will include several sites on both sides of the River Tyne and the neighbourhoods immediately surrounding them, in the central areas of Newcastle and Gateshead.
The proposed new approach to regeneration will include the commissioning of a new Newcastle-Gateshead Mayoral Development Zone Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF). The SRF will outline a 20-year vision and serve as a unifying narrative that brings together existing and emerging strategic priorities, programmes, and policies, ensuring coherence and alignment with the high-level ambitions set out in the Combined Authority’s Local Growth Plan and the emerging Spatial Development Strategy.