Trinity Square Redevelopment
a proposal by Spenhill Developments (Tesco's Development Arm)

http://www.yourtrinitysquare.co.uk/

Proposal:

A new flagship Tesco Extra; 40 shops, including high street chains, independent shops and banks; and a new public square.

Provision for cafés, bars and restaurants, with some overlooking the new town square.

700 car parking spaces for the town centre.

1,000 bedroom student village with management and social facilities.

20,000 sq ft of new office space.

Prime location 110 bed hotel.

Map of the site (Red Line)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v729/marc_elliott/GatesheadTCMap.jpg

Concept Visuals

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v729/marc_elliott/1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v729/marc_elliott/2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v729/marc_elliott/3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v729/marc_elliott/4.jpg

In the meantime, Tesco (operating as a Tesco Metro, I believe) will be moving into the old Kwik Save store on the High Street.

and what's there at the minute:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/04/25/gateshead10b.jpg

And some smaller schemes happening in the vicinity -

Gateshead gets creative to boost economy

* 19.May.09 |
* Posted in Business, Commerce and Finance and Enterprise and Start-up
* by bdaily business news network

Gateshead Council has joined forces with designer Wayne Hemingway to try to encourage small creative businesses to settle in the town.

The ‘starter for ten’ scheme offers support for small businesses, including free premises, business advice and specialist guidance. The council’s ultimate aim is to raise the profile of Gateshead as a location for creative businesses.

Buildings on the town’s High Street South have been earmarked for demolition in the long term, but instead of standing dormant until then firms will be able to use the space as a temporary base.

Wayne Hemingway said: “Nationally we are losing our low cost start up opportunities. From Kensington Market in London, where my first company Red or Dead established itself, to The Corn Exchange in Leeds. Places that used to provide low cost opportunities for independent start-ups in prime positions are disappearing as our towns and cities contribute to the worrying “Clone Town Britain” label. At a time when overseas competition is addressing this issue Britain should start to also address it to retain its creative edge.”

The ‘starter for ten’ space will join Gateshead’s other developments in the creative sector, The Sage and BALTIC, as well as nearby business venues such as the Gateshead International Business Centre.

Councillor Mick Henry, the leader of Gateshead Council, said: “This innovative new scheme is part of the overall plan to reinvigorate the centre of Gateshead. I’m delighted that Wayne Hemingway, who is a long-time friend of Gateshead, has come up with such an interesting and challenging scheme for the area.

“With its developments on Gateshead Quays and at the International Stadium, Gateshead has set a very high standard and achieved a reputation for high quality, leading edge design. We are determined to tackle the town centre regeneration in the same spirit.”

Great idea regarding the "Starter for Ten" units, Gateshead is an ideal place to provide affordable units - although I'm not sure I'd create a shop there as there'll be next to no footfall in Gateshead centre for a long, long time, if ever. However small, affordable units for new and exciting businesses are something Tyneside needs - it would actually be my choice for the East Pilgrim St site actually but the developers won't build that in a million years.

As for the renders of the new Gateshead centre, they look absolutely awful. Seriously, seriously cheap and overbearing. Ignoring the first image (the map), would anyone fancy living in one of the flats you can see higher up in the second and third renderings? Does anyone think that these will be much more than 21st Century high-rise council flats (in character at least, even if they are sold as private housing)?

And I know they're only concept visualisations, but how often are renderings released and the final building looks better?

I work in Gateshead and use the interchange everyday. Narey have I seen a more depressing town centre in Britain. The Tesco architecture above looks horrid but I suppose will at least bring some life into the centre. Is there any hope for Gateshead Town Centre truth be told? I wish there was as I'm growing rather fond on the place from working there.

Interesting letter and response on this in the Chron today. A bloke wrote in complaining that progress has ground to a halt on the demolition of the shopping centre/car park. The leader of Gateshead Council responded that until the nature of the scheme is approved Tesco have not been given permission to demolish everything. Therefore, no agreement = no demolition! Slightly concerning.

Interesting letter and response on this in the Chron today. A bloke wrote in complaining that progress has ground to a halt on the demolition of the shopping centre/car park. The leader of Gateshead Council responded that until the nature of the scheme is approved Tesco have not been given permission to demolish everything. Therefore, no agreement = no demolition! Slightly concerning.

any word on when a planning application is due?

anyway ive warmed to the carpark so the longer it stays the better.

The car park even looks better than those two designs. It's an important space and they have the chance to come up with something ground breaking that'll last for 100 years, instead the designs look like a lot of these boring buildings that are going up now.

any word on when a planning application is due?

anyway ive warmed to the carpark so the longer it stays the better.

No date, they just said negotiations were ongoing.

The thing about the car park is that I know I like it in part because I'm studying architecture. It's the only one of its kind and is a landmark. The proposed Tesco Town could be anywhere and will kill any sense of distinction. Plus the car park is, essentially, built for the use of the people. The new development will be geared and designed purely to encourage people to spend as much as possible, preferably at a Tesco till.

However I accept that from the point of view of any normal person, it's a big ugly brute of a building.

Either way it was simply not built right and isn't fit or safe for use, so the decision is pretty much out of our hands surely?

The thing about the car park is that I know I like it in part because I'm studying architecture. It's the only one of its kind and is a landmark. The proposed Tesco Town could be anywhere and will kill any sense of distinction. Plus the car park is, essentially, built for the use of the people. The new development will be geared and designed purely to encourage people to spend as much as possible, preferably at a Tesco till.

However I accept that from the point of view of any normal person, it's a big ugly brute of a building.

Either way it was simply not built right and isn't fit or safe for use, so the decision is pretty much out of our hands surely?

im pretty sure up close the concrete looks like it is crumbling, but i dont know if this is due to an inherent design flaw or because it has been purposely neglected, and im also not sure if it is untreatable.

I don't study architecture but ive always quite liked it - first in that local 'yes it is shit but it is OUR shit' way, but i also think it actually has a pleasant form - how sleek and sharp the levels are and their angular shape at the edges. not a big fan of the materials but i think colourful clip on plastic shite, as tesco propose, would be worse. if painted in light cream like the brunswick centre it may look better, then again it might look stupid.

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/site_furniture/2007/11/08/gatesheadmultistorey230.jpg

i don't like the low rise section though, it's a mess, detracts from the singular vertical thrill of the carpark itself and does little to engage with the surrounding context. though in this regard the proposed tesco schemes seem just as inward looking, if not more so, so would be no improvement to the urban planning failure and may well exacerbate this probem further. but because people concentrate on 'carbuncle' status instead of looking more closely at what is wrong with the current set-up this issue gets ignored.

I have to say those Trinity Square proposals are a missed opportunity ..

Far too fussy .. and yes .. keep the GC carpark :nuts:

Personally, my biggest disappointment is that they're not demolishing it using explosive charges! I've always wanted to see a building come down like that, and thought that this would have been a great opportunity!

Anyway, I'm one of those annoying people who knows nothing about architecture in terms of theory and properly explaining things, but like art, I know what I like and what I don't like. Personally, I don't really like the car park, and having a local sense of affection for something doesn't mean that it's worth keeping*. I imagine that trying to retain it would seriously hinder any kind of comprehensive redevelopment of the town centre, and that kind of redevelopment is clearly what is needed in Gateshead. It's very disappointing for me that the whole scheme will be centred on a massive Tesco store, but my knowledge relates more to general uses than to the specifics of design, and so I wouldn't want to try and suggest what should be there instead of the "colourful clip on plastic shite", which I wholeheartedly agree is rubbish design.

*I should point out that I only moved to the north east about 7.5 years ago as a student, and then to Gateshead about 3 years ago, so the car park isn't something I've exactly grown up with. I appreciate that longer-standing residents may well have different opinions on the worthiness of the car park as a structure for retention.

I hear that there's a bit of tension between Ghd and Tesco at the minute on this one. I would suspect that the original scale of the concept no longer stacks up economically given the recession.

I hear that there's a bit of tension between Ghd and Tesco at the minute on this one. I would suspect that the original scale of the concept no longer stacks up economically given the recession.

could see a sunderland arc situation develop here....

Definitely, I don't see how not allowing them to complete demolition helps either way. Sure, demolition will leave an obvious undeveloped zone but then so does knocking down 90% of the area and just leaving the car park. Totally bizarre.

I hear that there's a bit of tension between Ghd and Tesco at the minute on this one. I would suspect that the original scale of the concept no longer stacks up economically given the recession.

Yes there is- I know someone in the planinng dept there- and Tesco is dragging their feet because of the recession and don't really see any big hurry cos they know they couldnt fill any of the units- so why close a profitable store squeeze into a tiny replacement when probably for years they won't be able to make their money out of the development. It has even been whispered that Tesco could even be forced out and a new developer/ supermarket move in their place- although that is probably just chinese whispers.

I hear that there's a bit of tension between Ghd and Tesco at the minute on this one. I would suspect that the original scale of the concept no longer stacks up economically given the recession.

They want to make it bigger?!

To be honest I can completely understand them wanting to hold off for a while (which I'd expect is a similar story at EPS), bearing in mind the current climate.

Fingers crossed it does fold though, it's an awful scheme.

Former Shop Offers Creative Opening for Artists
Date: 23/11/2009
Shed2e
Councillor Mick Henry (below) and Wayne Hemingway MBE help to celebrate the opening of The Shed in Gateshead
A group of artists and creative businesses have helped Gateshead Council to transform an empty furniture store in the centre of Gateshead into Britain’s latest artists’ colony.

Eleven of the region’s freshest creative business stars have been given rent-free workspace by Gateshead Council as part of a new project to help small, creative businesses to get off the ground.

The innovative ‘Starter for Ten’ scheme, developed by Gateshead Council and design guru Wayne Hemingway MBE, has seen the transformation of The Bed Shed, a redundant furniture store on Gateshead’s High Street, into a thriving creative cluster for small businesses called ‘The Shed’.

On Monday 23rd November 2009, Councillor Mick Henry, Leader of Gateshead Council, joined design guru Wayne Hemingway MBE to throw open the doors and officially welcome the first eleven creative businesses to their new premises.

Initially a pilot scheme, The Shed offers basic business premises at little or no cost to act as a catalyst for growth in the local creative sector.

Starter for Ten’s first tenants include visual artists, fashion designers, an architect, a fashion photographer, a graphic designer and an award-winning filmmaker.
'Centre for Creativity'

Cllr Mick Henry, Leader of Gateshead Council, says: “This is an innovative scheme which has really captured the imagination of local artists”.

“When we announced our plans to make Gateshead a centre for creativity by turning this huge empty building into temporary creative workspace, we were inundated with requests for space.

“We are confident that the enthusiasm brought by the eleven creative businesses will generate a vibrant and creative atmosphere in Gateshead that will invigorate our own plans for the town centre’s redevelopment.”

He added: “I’m delighted that Wayne Hemingway, who is a long-time friend of Gateshead, has come up with such an interesting and challenging scheme for the area.

Wayne Hemingway said: “This is about giving the creative community a helping hand and putting empty units to good use. It has the potential to attract leaders and entrepreneurs to Gateshead and give the local economy a boost.

“The creative sector is now one of the biggest drivers of the UK economy and yet there are very few facilities to promote entrepreneurship in this area.
'Low Cost Opportunities'

“Nationally we are losing our low cost start up opportunities. From Kensington Market in London, where my first company Red or Dead established itself, to The Corn Exchange in Leeds. Places that used to provide low cost opportunities for independent start ups in prime positions are disappearing as our towns and cities contribute to the worrying “Clone Town Britain” label. At a time when overseas competition is addressing this issue Britain should start to also address it to retain its creative edge.”

Buildings on Gateshead’s High Street South – including the former Bed Shed - have been earmarked for demolition in the long-term, but instead of standing dormant until then, the eleven creative businesses have been given the opportunity to use the large sub-divided space as a temporary base.

As part of the package, Gateshead Council is providing free business advice and specialist guidance to raise the profile of Gateshead as a location for creative business

I believe these are the people who get free space -

Noel Clueit

A Visual artist specialising in sculpture as well as drawing, painting, video and animation. He graduated with a degree in Fine Art from Cumbria Institute of the Fine Arts, Carlisle, in 2007. Recent projects include refurbishing a derelict building in Carlisle into 'Bank Gallery' which he ran with a colleague for two years. He also helped students set up a new gallery space, 'Badger, Badger', in an empty commercial unit in Carlisle. Most recently he has had a solo show 'Sunflowers' at Satellite Gallery in Newcastle.
Kate Craddock with Steve Gilroy, richard Dawson, Matthew Hearn and Sarah Tulloch

Multi-disciplinary group including a performer, theatre director, writers, a musician, visual artists and a curator. Kate Craddock is co-founder and artistic director of 'mouth to mouth' international performance collective. Recent projects include her performance 'Hand me Down' at Live Studio Theatre;musician Richard Dawson is known through his recent album 'Dawson May, Jazzfinger Clay'; Steve Gilroy is a writer and director and his recent productions include, 'Motherland', 'Me and Cilla' and 'Hand Me Down'; Sarah Tulloch specialises in film/video and collage and past projects include a residency at Moorbank Botanic Gardens; Matthew Hearn has curated a number of projects including 'The Space between the Sole and the Heel', Globe Gallery and has contributed critical writing for a number of art exhibitions for galleries including Workplace and the National Glass Centre.
Colin Davies

Graphic designer, started his own design studio called OneNineFour in Newcastle in January 2009 specialising in creating branding, editorial design and art direction for the cultural sector. He has also co-curated a number of design exhibitions including Our Friends In The North for Design Event 07 and MadeNorth for Design Event 08.
Jennifer Douglas

Visual artist whose practice focuses on sculpture, large scale installation and drawing. Graduated with a first class degree in Fine Art from Newcastle University and has a Masters in Fine Art from the Glasgow School of Art. Jennifer is represented by Workplace Gallery, has had a solo exhibition at the Grundy Gallery Blackpool and has a forthcoming solo show at the Durham Light Infantry Museum in 2010.
Kate Eccles, Molly Barrett and Verity Quinn

A group of theatre practitioners and visual artists whose specialisms include costume and textiles, puppetry, animation, theatre design, site-responsive installation and performance.Recent projects include 'Stranger Places' at Enchanted Parks 2008.
Lisa Gara and Hannah Gair

Two graduate designers from Nottingham Trent University 2009 specialising in hand-printed textiles and womenswear.
Anne Risaria Langley

Scriptwriter with her own film production company Brief Encounters 21st Century Ltd. whose award-winning shorts have been screened on television and at the Cannes Film Festival. Her second short film 'Brief Encounter 21st Century' was shown at Cannes 2007 and was sold to the Mini-Movie channel in Luxembourg for worldwide distribution. She is currently developing her first feature film, 'Not Only Angels Can Fly', a romantic comedy.
Liam Murray

Visual artist with a degree in Fine Art from Glasgow School of Art 2004. Prior to moving to Newcastle last year he spent 2 years renovating a 19th centruy black house in the Outer Hebrides.
Christoph Oschatz

Architect originally from Germany, moved to Newcastle in 2000. Specialises in residential projects but is also interested in art collaborations and education. He has organised exhibitions such as the "Make me a Home" exhibiton for Northern Architecture and in his previous employment was responsible for organising and constructing the interior and exterior of the Dott07 Festival. Christoph is working as a Creative Practitioner for Creative Partnerships with 2 schools in Co.Durham.
Aether & Hemera

A lighting design and new media architecture partnership specialising in art installations and lighting schemes which began in 2008. Originally from Italy they recently completed a fellowship at the Institute of Digital Innovation, University of Teesside. For this they created a prototype for an interactive 'Mood Chair' which changes colour in response to the sitter and the environment. They also created the audio and light installation 'Rose's Halo' for the Enchanted Park event in Saltwell Park 2008.
Kate Usher

Kate is a recent graduate in Textiles and Surface Design from Cleveland College of Art and Design specialising in digitally printed and hand finished wallpapers. She has just exhibited at 'New Designers' at the Business Design Centre London.
Laura Jane Vest

Fashion and beauty photographer. Graduated in Photography at Newcastle College in 2007. Regularly does fashion and beauty shoots for the regional Accent magazine and was commissioned to do a series of images for the launch of the Vivienne Westwood Store, Newcastle. In addition Laura has a monthly commission with The Royal Photographic Society Journal providing items of interest for the news section.

interesting website associated with boosting gateshead's appeal to creative industries - http://www.thehubgateshead.co.uk/

from the 1NG document:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/throwaway/gatesheadtown.jpg

Bit news on why the car park is still standing...

Council blocks Get Carter car park demolition
SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has been told the controversial Get Carter car park will not be knocked down until firm assurances are given that a new town centre will be built.

Gateshead Council bosses have revealed they have been forced to delay demolition work on the eyesore as they await a promise from Tesco that all the new developments they asked for in exchange for the go-ahead will be delivered.

The retailer has been told it must meet several conditions before the local authority will allow bulldozers to finally tear it down.

Gateshead Council’s chief executive Roger Kelly has told colleagues he was carrying out their orders to make sure the best possible deal is secured before allowing the car park, which is on land leased to the supermarket, to be knocked down.

The eyesore has had to be left to blight the town centre because the council did not want to risk giving Tesco bosses permission to develop the site as it wishes with no assurances the local authority will get what it wants.

Mr Kelly said he expects to reach a final agreement with the supermarket chain this week.

The council boss was responding to a question from Liberal Democrat councillor Jonathan Wallace, who said there were serious concerns over how long the development was taking.

“Having seen the proposals in 2007, we are now heading into 2010 and it still has not come down,” Mr Wallace said.

“A lot of people would really like to know what the problem is behind this.

“My concern is that next year we will still have this car park blocking development and as a result we could miss out on the economic recovery.”

Tesco is still to submit a planning application for the redevelopment of the Trinity Square shopping centre in Gateshead, which should include the flattening of the multi-storey car park.

The upgrade could include leisure and community facilities, student accommodation, a new Tesco store, shops, cafes and restaurants, a hotel and car parking.

Speaking at a meeting of the full council, Mr Kelly said: “The recession has affected some of their (Tesco) thinking and slowed this down.

“We are in the final stages of negotiations – we think we are in the last week of this and once the agreement is signed we would be in a position to speed it up.

“There are three outstanding issues I would hope that before Christmas will be resolved and we will be in a different position.”

The chief executive said he was authorised by councillors to seek the best possible deal and was acting within his remit.

It is believed Mr Kelly has had to use the car park as a bargaining tool because Tesco has presented “unacceptable” draft proposals.

The existing town centre development was approved by Gateshead Council in 1961.

The £200,000 car park was designed by architect Owen Luder, but by the time it was finished the stark concrete architecture was out of fashion.

In 1971 the structure featured in the film Get Carter, which starred Michael Caine.

Jennifer Duncan, Tesco corporate affairs manager, said: “We are making good progress on the Trinity Square development, and hope to announce further details in the New Year.”


http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-evening-chronicle/2009/12/14/council-blocks-get-carter-car-park-demolition-72703-25386958/

good for gateshead council tbh. they have to get this one right.

Totally agree. Tesco are trying to drive through an appalling scheme. Until that changes Gateshead should hold their ground. They've delivered some great developments over the years and this one should be the very best of those.

good for gateshead council tbh. they have to get this one right.

What difference does the car park being there or not make though? They may as well get Tesco to pay for that now and the clearance of the site even if the redevelopment falls through.

^The article states Gateshead's chief exec Roger Kelly "has had to use the car park as a bargaining tool because Tesco has presented “unacceptable” draft proposals." Tesco have to know they don't have carte blanche here and if the car park represents a bargaining chip by all means use it.

What difference does the car park being there or not make though? They may as well get Tesco to pay for that now and the clearance of the site even if the redevelopment falls through.

If Tesco pay for the demolition, Gateshead owe them for it, so it makes it that tiny bit harder to play hardball with them.

I can't say I'm a massive fan of the new proposals from Tesco, above, although something clearly needs to be done about Gateshead town centre.

The main problem is that these proposals seem to be repeating the mistakes of the past. I mean, what's wrong with central Gateshead at the moment? Well, first of all, it's a grand modernist scheme gone wrong. Secondly, it's monstrous and inhuman in scale, monolithic and in places intimidating. Thirdly, it's almost gruesomely ugly, and often biliously coloured. Fourthly, the public spaces are hard and windswept and cold in appearance.

Now, consider the Tesco proposals. Er.... it doesn't look entirely like all the lessons have been learned, does it?

p.s. I also quite like the car park and part of me will be sorry to see it go. It's been a hideous, useless carbuncle since I was a kid (and before) but it's got history and I'm sort of fond of it.

I can't say I'm a massive fan of the new proposals from Tesco, above, although something clearly needs to be done about Gateshead town centre.

The main problem is that these proposals seem to be repeating the mistakes of the past. I mean, what's wrong with central Gateshead at the moment? Well, first of all, it's a grand modernist scheme gone wrong. Secondly, it's monstrous and inhuman in scale, monolithic and in places intimidating. Thirdly, it's almost gruesomely ugly, and often biliously coloured. Fourthly, the public spaces are hard and windswept and cold in appearance.

Now, consider the Tesco proposals. Er.... it doesn't look entirely like all the lessons have been learned, does it?

quite agree monters. the scheme is at an impasse currently anyway due to differences in opinion between gateshead council and tesco.

Sounds like Gateshead aren't just going to roll over and let Tesco or anyone else just build a load of rubbish.

Which really makes me wonder why Newcastle council does...

I still think it's a hollow threat from Gateshead Council, they need to shut up or put up, i.e. let Tesco get on with it or compulsorily purchase it and do it themselves. They obviously can't afford it themselves and I suspect they realise no-one else is going to do it either.

Well in that case they should leave the centre as-is until a decent offer comes along.

Sounds like Gateshead aren't just going to roll over and let Tesco or anyone else just build a load of rubbish.

Which really makes me wonder why Newcastle council does...

Yeah, NCC rolled over and let Tesco build any old rubbish on the NGH site didn't they? :bash:

It was more the "anyone else" I was pointing to Greg. The planning department rarely give a toss about design and everyone knows it. We've seen some horrendous schemes go through and it's sad to see that Gateshead are pickier than Newcastle when you'd expect the opposite to be true.

As usual it's walking a tightrope between being anti-design or anti-development, and gets criticised for both.

True, but having worked in architecture I know that you can lean on a developer (large or small) to raise the quality of their design without them taking their ball home.

Also it's worth bearing in mind that after the restructuring of pay at the council, the urban design officers are on a much lower pay scale than normal development control planners and most of the rest of the planning department. When you bear in mind that an urban designer will have more training than a planner (either being a planner who has had additional training, done an MA in Urban Design or is a Part 1/Part 2 architect), you know fine well that you're not going to get good staff by paying them badly. However I don't believe that the council wants a strong design department - they just get in the way of "progress".

Besides that, countless applications aren't even being passed to the design department - just look at the application mentioned on the Ouseburn thread. It's an horrendous building that would be massacred on design grounds. So what happens? The urban designers simply aren't on the consultation list.

I'm not having a go at you Greg, I genuinely think you're a good councillor and I'd happily vote for you. But there's one thing that unites the sorts of cities people on these boards talk with envy about - they don't allow shoddy development. Manchester has reinvented itself in a way Leeds hasn't, York has always allowed contemporary stuff as long as it's sympathetic and high quality, even places like Leicester and Liverpool have started to follow a similar path. It's exactly the same reason why people are starting to talk in glowing terms of Gateshead, but less so about Newcastle. It's a genuine issue and allowing crap development year after year will slowly damage this city, which trades strongly on its beauty as a place to visit.

To be honest, I would question why the planning departments don't employ architects. No offence to urban designers around, but unless they've had architectural training, they're no more qualified to comment on the aesthetics of a scheme than a normal planner. True, they might well know a fair bit about spaces and built environments etc, but I've seen some bizarre comments from Urban designers who simply don't get some stuff. I'm not trying to be stuffy architect about all this, as that annoys me a hell of a lot more, but I've seen comments where the Urban designer has requested that all the Cedar boarding on a building be stained, hence removing the main reason you put cedar there in the first place, because of it's unique colour, and because it weathers to a stable silvery grey etc.

Totally agree Chatton - although at least urban designers have some idea of the design process. It's the fact that planners aren't given any architectural training whatsoever and are then given the job of telling architects whether their architecture is good enough that I find bizarre.

My assumption is that the lack of training results in planners simply not feeling confident to comment on design, so they simply fail to hold developers to task on design grounds.

not quite gateshead town centre, but this development in bensham which was mentioned in the past, is now externally complete and looks pretty good -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/throwaway/bensham.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/throwaway/bensham2.jpg

i remember tcollins said he lived round the corner from this - any impressions on the development?

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/GatesheadTownCentre310310.jpg

I actually don't think that hurrying things will do any good. If Gateshead Council feel under pressure to deliver something quicker than they plan to, it will only result in a poorer final result.

Johnnypd, I have just noticed your reference to the development of town houses in Bensham which are just around the corner from me too. The artist's impressions do look really good but in reality the project is still not complete. I drove past tonight and there is still some scaffolding up and the entrance is barred by temporary gates so nobody has moved in. They do look nice but not as nice as the pictures and the asking price of £180,000 + for the area seems a bit steep. They are built on the edge of an existing council estate and on one of the busiest junctions in Gateshead. The views leave a lot to be desired. I don't envy anyone the task of getting across three lanes of traffic in the rush hour if they are heading to the town centre. I would have taken a picture but it is impossible to stop on that stretch of road without causing massive road rage. I will try to walk round over the weekend and get a shot.

Some photos would be great Alf. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of any form of pastiche architecture, but if you're going for something "old fashioned" the ones in the images aren't bad - at least they look to have been done properly. However as you say, the reality isn't always the same as what is proposed in the renderings.

Either way, it's good to see investment and confidence in the Bensham area.

Johnnypd, I have just noticed your reference to the development of town houses in Bensham which are just around the corner from me too. The artist's impressions do look really good but in reality the project is still not complete. I drove past tonight and there is still some scaffolding up and the entrance is barred by temporary gates so nobody has moved in. They do look nice but not as nice as the pictures and the asking price of £180,000 + for the area seems a bit steep. They are built on the edge of an existing council estate and on one of the busiest junctions in Gateshead. The views leave a lot to be desired. I don't envy anyone the task of getting across three lanes of traffic in the rush hour if they are heading to the town centre. I would have taken a picture but it is impossible to stop on that stretch of road without causing massive road rage. I will try to walk round over the weekend and get a shot.

thanks for the info alf. yes the courtyard areas are still a mess and fences are still up so not complete, but i think the buildings are externally finished. for some reason i thought the bricks looked a shade lighter than the ones in the image above.

also, the end terraced house next to this has great bas relief detailing, so if you can try and get a pic of that. :)

I must apologise in advance for the quality and quantity of the following pictures. I had a total technology fail. I checked my camera before leaving the house and it was dead. So armed only with my trusty mobile phone I set off in the rain. After the shots below the battery died without any warning. It normally bleeps irritatingly for ages before it cuts off.

I'm afraid the bas-relief may be a trick of the eye or the light and close up it just look like a mess of brickwork and stone:

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq277/pendelfinphumph/05-04-10_091621.jpg

Before I worked out that to get the same angle as Johnnypd's first picture I would either have to clamber up on a wall or trespass on some private property, I managed to get a couple of test shots.

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq277/pendelfinphumph/05-04-10_091708.jpg


http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq277/pendelfinphumph/05-04-10_091747.jpg

Here is one I took earlier during the construction phase. I was fascinated by the faux chimney apparently balanced on the roof beams.

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq277/pendelfinphumph/chimney.jpg

At the weekend I had a look at the same area on Google Street View. I travelled up Bensham Road to find the houses under construction then moving further up there was the Five Wand pub - which was demolished to make way for the houses. Quite a trick that?

Thanks for ther pics Alf, it does seem they went with a lighter shade of brick.

though the bas reliefs are on the front of that house between the bay windows, not the side! it also has corinthian pillars round the bay windows too, quite interesting for a normal terraced house.

Perhaps it wasn't technology that let me down today but my brain. I completely misunderstood your comment about the bas-relief. I remember the three panels between the upper and lower bay windows but they are so dirty that it is difficult to tell what they represent. I will try to have a closer look and see if I can get a decent photograph of them.

I live just around the corner from that new development too, and it bugs me that the roof and wall materials are completely different to anything else around. I know that developers want their site to look more distinctive than those around them, but surely it's not unreasonable to ask for facing materials to match those around them. It's far from being a conservation area or anything, but even so I think that matching materials is hardly an onerous request.

As for the houses themselves, the gardens are really quite small, and the ones on the west of the site (the third of Alf Stone's pictures) are trapped between the three storey townhouse and a large retaining wall, so will be quite dark I imagine. However, as I don't (and won't) live there, that's not my problem, and quite frankly it's a massive improvement on the Five Wands pub which was there before! I agree with the asking price being a bit much too, and the comments about their location next to that junction and potential access issues for the residents.

Well, unbeknownst to me it would appear that I have two logins for this site, and at some point clearly moved from one to the other without knowing it!

Tesco to develop 'own brand' Living & Leisure Villages
TimesOnline, 26 April 2010

LINK - http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article7107912.ece

Tesco already provides everything you need to stock a home, from groceries to garden furniture. Now it is going to build the house as well.

The supermarket chain plans to develop four “mini-villages” in the South East along with “mixed-use living and leisure” schemes in Ipswich and northeast England.

The schemes feature scores of homes, all near a Tesco store.

Tesco is taking advantage of traditional housebuilders’ failure to raise money from banks. Developers have been forced to build smaller schemes than envisaged to avoid the need for large infrastructure investments.

Critics said that the competition and regulatory authorities needed to investigate Tesco’s tightening grip on the economy in order to avoid the development of monopolies.

Josh Ryan-Collins, of the New Economics Foundation, said: “There’s a sense that they are using their market power to dominate aspects of the economy. There is a need for more affordable housing but there is a danger with Tesco’s moves. “If they provide the mortgage, if they act as estate agent, if they provide a credit card, if they sell you a house, they will end up with more personal information about you than the Government.”

Mini-villages are due to be built in Bromley-by-Bow, East London, Dartford, Kent, Streatham, in South London, and Woolwich, southeast London. Tesco’s diversifying plans, first mooted before the credit crunch, received a boost last month when Lambeth Council gave the go-ahead for it to build 200 homes, a bus depot and ice rink in Streatham.

Spen Hill, the supermarket’s development arm, is also introducing the “mixed-use” model of leisure, shopping and living facilities to other areas.

Tesco is in talks with councils in Gateshead and Sunderland about bringing this model to the North East. Since 2007, Tesco has planned to redevelop a site in Gateshead known as the Get Carter car park because it featured in the 1971 Michael Caine film of the same name.

It is understood that Tesco is less likely to pursue joint ventures with its latest schemes than in the past, but will use contractors for the building work. It says that the plans will create 1,000 jobs.

Alastair Crowdy, head of planning at GL Hearn, a property consultancy, said that Tesco was in an uniquely powerful position. “It is in a good position to develop because it is a very strong covenant and a very strong brand, whereas other developers may struggle to get finance,” he said.

“If a development comes with a store, then it is easier to get funding. People have been living above stores for years. It works in other locations.”

A Tesco spokesman said: “Through innovative mixed-use developments such as these proposed, we are able to invest and create jobs in areas that many other developers cannot and will not.”

Interesting article. As long as there are controls in place I don't have a major problem with them building houses. I hope they don't intend this for the very centre of Gateshead although just outside would be fine. Flats would work in the town centre I suppose.

Good link NH. Though to be honest it's not really that new, as Tesco are well know for doing mixed use development (including residential) as part of regeneration schemes via their Spenhill regeneration arm. As well as the Gateshead town centre site they are doing somthing similar at Hebburn. It seems as though they are using their mixed-use development proposals as a template and rebranding/expanding it.

Good link NH. Though to be honest it's not really that new, as Tesco are well know for doing mixed use development (including residential) as part of regeneration schemes via their Spenhill regeneration arm. As well as the Gateshead town centre site they are doing somthing similar at Hebburn. It seems as though they are using their mixed-use development proposals as a template and rebranding/expanding it.


Yes, it would be good to just see some progress being made!

What a frightening idea - a town/village where the houses are sold/rented by Tesco, the town centre gives you the choice of shopping at Tesco, banking with Tesco, buying your clothes from Tesco etc...

Still, Tesco would never create a closed market and then put the prices up, would they..?

Tesco is a good friend of the labour government. Any other company would not have been allowed to get away with the way in which they behave. Very anti-competitive.

How the hell do we have two Tescos within a 5 minute walk in Newcastle? When Morrisons took over Safeway they had to sell the Heaton branch due to the proximity of the Byker branch. Now Tesco are opening all over the bloody shop and they get nothing but praise from the govt.

I don't know if anyone signed up to the Trinity Square petition a while ago but I did and got an interesting circular yesterday about progress on the project:

Thank you for adding your name to the petition calling on Tesco to get a move on with Trinity Square .



This campaign started a few weeks ago, at first just as an on-line campaign with the website and emailing some people about it. Since then word has spread, and the Evening Chronicle had an article in the ‘Chronicle extra’ and in the last 2 or 3 weeks the petition and website at www.ourtrinitysqure.org.uk have been widely promoted in a range of leaflets across Gateshead .



People continue to sign up at the website or return petition forms from leaflets. Many people have left comments in support of this campaign – I don’t think anyone has yet disagreed with what we are doing.



I have had discussions with the Council’s Chief Executive and other senior officials. The good news was that at last month’s board meeting, Tesco were still interested in the scheme – but discussions between Tesco and the Council seem to be continuing very slowly, and it is clear that there is still some way to go.



I haven’t yet approached Tesco’s head office about this campaign. I plan to do so, but it would be good to have more people backing it first. While they say “every little helps”, when it comes to talking to Tesco, I think size really will matter!



So please get your friends and neighbours to join the petition – you can download a paper copy of the petition from the website, and please feel free to forward this email to anyone you think might be interested. (Last week we had some problems with the web site, but it has been rebuilt and moved to a new server, so should be working better now).



Do please remember that this campaign is about *encouraging* Tesco and the Council to get the Town Centre scheme underway. It would be easy to go negative and criticise them, but this is a positive campaign, to persuade them to take positive steps. We don’t want Tesco to walk away from the scheme, so please keep a positive tone.



Finally, if you are wondering if this campaign is just part of the election razzmatazz, I would like to reassure that it is not the case. Yes, it is true that I am the Liberal Democrat candidate for Gateshead (and yes, I hope you will consider voting for me) but I can assure you that, whatever the election result, I will still be living in, and caring about, Gateshead . Unless the car park has been demolished, this campaign to get something done about it will be continuing, and if necessary we will be taking steps in the coming weeks to further increase the tempo of the campaign.



With best wishes, and thank you again for your support for this campaign.



Frank

----------------------------

Frank Hindle



Tel: 0191 487 9179

17 Cedar Crescent

Low Fell

Gateshead

NE9 6ER



www.frankhindle.org.uk

Tesco is a good friend of the labour government. Any other company would not have been allowed to get away with the way in which they behave. Very anti-competitive.

How the hell do we have two Tescos within a 5 minute walk in Newcastle? When Morrisons took over Safeway they had to sell the Heaton branch due to the proximity of the Byker branch. Now Tesco are opening all over the bloody shop and they get nothing but praise from the govt.

Is it not to do with the fact that the two tesco's (well 3 if you include the quayside) are diiferent in size- the new one on Clayton Street is a 'proper' supermarket where you can do a full shop and the other two in the city centre are more like corner shops or a newsagent where you buy a loaf of bread or a newspaper. Didnt Morrison decide to close their store in Heaton because they could have thought they would be simply paying the overheads for two sites and halving the custom between the two. I dont think I feel comfortable for a planning dept or government making a supermarket or cinema close a store (many keep saying in here the odeon HAD to leave the gate cos it had one in the silverlink and metro centre- it might just wanted out of the gate cos its shit really and puts people off by having to pay over the head to park). In a free market surely if tesco or morrison can support two supermarkets that are already built then thats up to them. Its different if a totally new supermarket is to be built and will effect current traders (West Rd and Tesco is an example)- the planners come in and stop it. I mean you don't see it being stopped that H&M has two stores in spitting distance of each other in the city centre. And Waterstones used to have two facing each other or Nando's or starbucks being all over? Whats the difference?

The sell off of a number of Safeway stores was a condition of sale imposed by the competition commission when Safeway and Morissons merged. Similar things happened when Co-op and Somerfield merged, hence the sell off of the profitable Somerfield store on Chillingham Road to Tesco Express.

I dont know what the rules are on new stores opening, but I assume the planning department must excercise some level of judgement in determining when a single retailer is in danger of monopolising an area, limiting customer choice and potentially creating an unfair trading environment.

I do agree Waterstones, H&M and a few other stores carry multiple premesis in Newcastle, but often this is due to legacy (eg Waterstones take over of Dillons) or a single store providing inadequate trading space for all stock lines (eg. H&M). In the case of Tesco, the same goods (albeit less lines in the smaller stores) are carried in every store. Surely the only reason for opening multiple stores in such close proximity is to try and monopolise the city centre food retail market?

The difference between Starbucks saturating an area and Tesco doing it is that coffee is (for most people) not a necessity, whereas grocery shopping is. If Tesco completely crowd out the competition in an area, which they could easily do if they were allowed, they could then push their prices up once they have complete control of the market.

Have a look at Walmart in the US and you'll understand why the competition commission, although not exactly perfect, is definitely necessary.

Besides, it's also a matter of distance. H&M could easily have four or five stores side by side - you'd still be within easy walking distance of more clothes shops. However if you even allowed just two supermarkets of the same chain to be very close together however, there wouldn't be enough local trade to sustain a competing chain to open a store (therefore providing choice/competition and forcing both companies to keep prices competitive).

Planning has nothing to do with an individual company operating, its just a case of getting the Use Class you want whether it it be retail, restaurant etc. And its not a case of them dominating Newcastle, What about the Co-op, Sainsburys, M&S Waitrose and Fenwicks foodhall, plus other reasonably big food stores such as Herons etc. The Tesco Metro's are so small that they don't have the same impact as a large supermarket. Also, i'd rather it was a British retailer that was 'possibly' dominating the food sector in Newcastle City Centre rather than say Walmart (Asda).

^^ I don't understand this view that exists that having a british company is preferable over a foreign one. Personally I don't much care about the country of ownership but more about how it chooses to conduct business. Tesco has a reputation almost as poor as Walmart for underpaying and over working staff, exploitation of suppliers, misuse of market buying power etc. They are an awful company.

Sainsbury on the other hand... well they seem to operate in a way that is marginally better than the others. ANyway this is all off topic so ignore me!

Tbh i didn't really mean it like that, but anyone who hasn't been to Newcastle City Centre reading this thread would believe that there were no other supermarkets in Newcastle's core. And yeah it is off topic, should be in the retail thread.

.
Wasn't really sure where to put this, as it isn't exactly "Town Centre", but if it gets to the firm proposals stage (the article isn't clear on that) it can be transferred to its own 'Project Thread' anyway . . .

Former Gateshead school site is to be redeveloped as offices
May 5 2010 by Peter McCusker, The Journal


PROPERTY developer Adderstone Group is set to embark on a £6m redevelopment of a former North East open air school after buying it from Gateshead Council for £265,000.

Work is expected to start on the conversion of the former Joicey Road school in Low Fell, Gateshead, in July with Adderstone committed to securing creative companies for at least three-quarters of the office space.

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/JoiceyRdhousingplanGateshead.jpg

Adderstone recently completed the purchase of the former school, last occupied five years ago, from Gateshead Council and has agreed to redevelop the whole of the 3.5-acre site.

The project named “3acrepark” will when completed comprise a total of 35,000sq ft of offices within existing and new buildings, split into flexible work space ranging in size from 400 to 20,000sq ft.

The park has been designed around the “own front door concept” by architects Hopper Howe Sadler and units will be offered to let, for sale or to let with an option to buy.


REST OF ARTICLE HERE - http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/commercial-property-north-east/news/2010/05/05/former-gateshead-school-site-is-to-be-redeveloped-as-offices-51140-26375221/

Get Carter car park finally set for demolition
Jun 18 2010 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nejournal/jun2010/2/0/the-gateshead-car-park-made-famous-by-appearing-in-the-film-get-carter-562701713.jpg

The demolition of the Get Carter car park is expected to start within days after supermarket giant Tesco signed a agreement with Gateshead Council on a £50m-plus town centre redevelopment.

After almost 10 years of delays, it is now understood that the prominent Gateshead town centre structure, made famous in the 1971 film Get Carter starring Michael Caine, will be demolished “within the next three weeks”.

In its place, Tesco will help lead the physical regeneration of Gateshead town centre with the development of a supermarket of at least 100,000sqft.

There will also be around 40 small retail units, accommodation for over 1,000 students, a new car park, public spaces, restaurants and cafes.

Tesco is expected to submit a planning application for the development of the 3.5 hectare Trinity Square site next week and this must be approved by the council.

But the agreement announced by the two parties yesterday allows the multi-storey car park to be flattened without further delay. Tesco has a demolition contractor already on the site and work could feasibly start in a matter of days. Gateshead MP Ian Mearns said he was delighted.


FULL ARTICLE HERE - http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2010/06/18/get-carter-car-park-finally-set-for-demolition-61634-26678250/

I'll believe it when I see it after numerous stories saying the exact same thing over the past two years in the media. Any updated images of the plans for Trinity Square out there?

The same here. Only when it happens will I believe it to be happening, they say this all the time and something always comes up to halt the demolition.

Hope they dont dumb the design down any further.

planning application next week? i will be keeping a close eye on the planning website in that case....

More about the car park here: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2010/07/03/countdown-to-demolition-of-get-carter-car-park-72703-26779288/

Demolition could be within three weeks.

.
As part of the 'Trinity Square Re-development', here is yet another story (Evening Chronicle of 7th July 2010) forecasting the demolition of the "Get Carter" (as it is often called) multi-storey car park.

Also, at the end of the article, is an interesting question for anyone who may have been involved in the construction of the car park, all those years ago . . .

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/GetCarterDemolition-7thJuly20101.jpg
http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/GetCarterDemolition-7thJuly20102.jpg

How is it going to be demolished? I'd love to see it blown up and watch it fall. But I very much doubt that'll happen since it's too close to roads and the shopping areas.

I expect it'll be cut down in sections as it usually the case nowadays. Explosives would be great but I doubt it'd be safe enough!

Having said all that, I'll miss it...

Well, it's not on the Council's site yet, but the trade press are saying the application has been submitted:

Planning Resource (http://www.planningresource.co.uk/bulletins/Planning-Resource-Daily-Bulletin/News/1016458/Tesco-submits-Gateshead-regeneration-application/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin)

Spenhill, the development arm of Tesco, has submitted a planning application for the regeneration of Gateshead's Trinity Square.

Designed by architect 3DReid, the £150m proposals include a new town square, 45 shops, a student village with over 900 beds, town centre parking and a Tesco store.

Pedestrian links will also integrate the town centre with the existing regeneration successes at the quayside.

Doug Wilson, corporate affairs manager for Spenhill said: "We have been working closely with the Council to deliver the best possible town centre for the people of Gateshead."

The plans also include provision for around 3,000m sq of office space, a 120 bed hotel and around 700 parking spaces.

The application follows the signing of a development agreement between Spenhill and Gateshead Council last month.

This which included an agreement to demolish the famous multi-storey car park that currently dominates the town centre, and which featured in the 1971 Michael Caine movie Get Carter.

Well, it's not on the Council's site yet, but the trade press are saying the application has been submitted:

Planning Resource (http://www.planningresource.co.uk/bulletins/Planning-Resource-Daily-Bulletin/News/1016458/Tesco-submits-Gateshead-regeneration-application/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin)

Finally some activity! Will keep an eye out for the application online, looking forward to seeing what its going to be like!

The End of the Storey in Gateshead
Gateshead Council and Spenhill, the regeneration subsidiary of Tesco today confirmed that demolition will begin on Monday 26th July 2010.

Gateshead Council and Spenhill recently signed a formal agreement to enable redevelopment of Trinity Square, a key site within the borough’s town centre, signalling a significant step toward the council’s ambitious plans for the borough’s development. A planning application is expected to be submitted by Spenhill for a proposed new development on the site of Trinity Square and the existing Tesco store imminently.

Leader of Gateshead Council, Councillor Mick Henry, said, “This car park is a significant part of Gateshead’s history. For forty years it has been visible from across Newcastle and Gateshead and as well as accommodating thousands of cars over the years, it has been a huge talking point and a great location for filming and photography. We all recognise its architectural style, whether loved or hated, but we’ve long awaited the opportunity to redevelop the town centre to better suit the needs and expectations of people who live and work here.”

It will take approximately eight weeks to demolish the structure with a large nibbling machine and a further eight weeks to clear the site. However, the remaining buildings on the corner of High Street and Ellison Street will remain until and electricity sub station is relocated.

Doug Wilson, Corporate Affairs Manager for Spenhill said, “Beginning the demolition of the car park is a momentous day for Gateshead. It has dominated the town centre for many years and in consultations local people have overwhelmingly called for it to go. In its place, Trinity Square will be a major investment into Gateshead that will create hundreds of new jobs and a town centre people can be proud of.”


http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Council%20and%20Democracy/news/News%20Articles/TheEndoftheStoreyinGateshead.aspx

FAO: Newcastle Historian

I have come across these two websites that contain a decent amount of information about the Trinity Square development. I've had a quick look in the website links section and couldn't find them. Perhaps they'd be worth adding?

http://www.trinitysquaregateshead.co.uk/

http://www.spenhill.co.uk/


Thanks TPNE, I have now added them to 'Section 9' . . .

GATESHEAD - TWO "TRINITY SQUARE DEVELOPMENT" WEBSITES
http://www.trinitysquaregateshead.co.uk/
http://www.spenhill.co.uk/

I am pleased that there is going to be some action on one of the Gateshead projects, namely the car park. Thompsons have moved in a lot more equipment and hung a huge sign on the front of the building with their name on it.

There is no sign of any activity on the old North Durham pitch, site of the new Gateshead FC stadium despite test bores being taken a long time ago. Their aim to open for the 2011/2012 season is looking very ambitious.

The town houses on Bensham Road are still not occupied despite the sold signs on most of them. The builders' security gate is still in place apart from weekends when the show house is open. The first sold signs went up back in April or May and I can't understand why nobody has moved in.

the trinitysquare website is the old one. this is the new one - www.yourtrinitysquare.co.uk

from the architects (3DReid) website - http://www.3dreid.com/content/461/view

£150m plan unveiled to transform
Gateshead Town Centre
July 16th 2010, by Adrian Pearson, Evening Chronicle

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/jul2010/6/0/how-the-new-gateshead-town-centre-could-look-29890509.jpg

THE transformation of Gateshead has come a step closer after a £150m plan was submitted for the Get Carter car park replacement.

After years of delays, work is ongoing on the demolition and supermarket group Tesco has told its developers to submit the formal rebuilding plans for the town centre.

The £150m proposals include a new town square, 45 retail units, offices, a student village with more than 900 beds, town centre parking and a Tesco store, as well as the potential for a hotel.

Developers Spenhill – Tesco’s development wing – say the rebuilt town centre will include new bars and restaurants, a Tesco Extra superstore and around 700 parking spaces.

The news came as question marks continue to hang over regeneration schemes across the North East because of the current economic uncertainty.

It has taken Gateshead Council and Tesco almost 10 years to come to point where the town centre car park made famous in the 1971 film Get Carter starring Michael Caine can be demolished.

Work to tear down the final section will continue this month.

The new Trinity Square town centre will have new links to the Quayside as part of overall regeneration plans.

Doug Wilson, corporate affairs manager for Spenhill, said: “We have been working closely with the council to deliver the best possible town centre for the people of Gateshead.

“With the demolition of the car park starting soon, local people will now see progress being made.


FULL (TWO PAGE) ARTICLE HERE - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2010/07/16/150m-plan-unveiled-to-transform-gateshead-72703-26867140/

I'll certainly miss the car park. I've been used to seeing it for my whole life (well as long as I can remember). I also like some brutalist architecture.

Full planning application for mixed use development comprising retail (A1), financial and professional (A2), restaurants and cafes (A3), drinking establishments (A4), hot food take aways (A5), supermarket (A1), offices (B1), student accommodation and ancillary facilities (C1), car parking and access, public square, landscaping and associated works with outline application for a range of uses to include A1/A2/A3/A4/B1/D1/C1.

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/6.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/5.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/4.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/3.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/2.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/1.jpg



http://planning.gateshead.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=L5JXACHK06A00&searchtype=WEEKLY

Perhaps the thread title should be changed to Trinity Square | Gateshead | Proposed? Or even a new thread made for this particular project and leave the Gateshead Town Centre Projects thread for other developments in the town centre? If another thread is desired then I'm willing to set it up in the same format as I did for the the Downing Plaza one.

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/7.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/81.jpg
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/82.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/91.jpg
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/92.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/101.jpg
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/102.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/111.jpg
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/112.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/121.jpg
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/122.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/131.jpg
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/132.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/141.jpg
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/142.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/151.jpg
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/152.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/161.jpg
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/162.jpg

http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/171.jpg
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/TownPlanningNE/Trinity%20Square/172.jpg

It seems the buildings will range in height from 2 to 13 storeys. The plinth level will be between 2-4 storeys, with student buildings between 4 and 7 storeys on top, with a 9 storey building at the corner.

Those 'now and then' photos/mock-ups, really get the message across well!

Its gonna look very different.

I'm sorry, but no, thats just aweful. The first close up shots look great (apart from the trees and stuff, which this country can't keep on top of to make them look nice), but everything else is just horrible. It's over sized, not shaped well, it just seems to be a block here, a block there, and a curve there so it's not too blocky. I'm sorry, very poor designs, the Tesco's itself looks pretty decent, but everything looks like an after thought, which is exactly what it is. I don't want to see that across the Tyne, and if I lived in Gateshead I would still be pushing for better.

I have a feeling that this will become what it has replaced, loved at first then hated for years to come.

Gateshead needs to take a note out of their own book on the riverside to come up with well designed buildings.

Perhaps the thread title should be changed to Trinity Square | Gateshead | Proposed? Or even a new thread made for this particular project and leave the Gateshead Town Centre Projects thread for other developments in the town centre? If another thread is desired then I'm willing to set it up in the same format as I did for the the Downing Plaza one.


THREAD TITLES . .

Thanks for the above, it is an issue that I have talked about with Geordie Ahmed a while back, when we were discussing links from the 'Development Summary' and stuff, but we didn't reach a full conclusion.

(1) On the Newcastle Forum, we have individual 'Project Threads' for all Projects, and (until projects emerge from a location) we have 'Area Developments' threads, where we discuss issues up to the emergence (as said) of an actual new development/project, when the new Project Thread is then set up.

(2) There seems to be FOUR exceptions to this . . .

.....1 - Ouseburn | Projects
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=986148
.....2 - West End | Projects
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=981630
.....3 - Gateshead Town Centre | Projects
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=980936
.....4 - Newcastle Student Accommodation | Projects
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=981388

In other words, these four seem to be "Multi-Project" threads (NOT 'Area Developments' threads) with the implication of this being that any emerging projects just 'continue on' to be covered on this multi-project thread, and Individual Project Threads, are NOT set up!

(3) This, above, is just how our Forum has 'developed' and there is nothing wrong with it. The only slight problem is, that because these four are 'exceptions to the norm' (for our forum) the sort of potential slight confusion/question (that you have brought up about 'Trinity Square') can occur.

(4) My own view is that these four threads would be better off becoming 'Area Developments' threads, like all the others, and so that when projects (like Trinity Square) emerge, then a separate 'Project Thread' (like all our others of those) would automatically be set up.

That is just 'my view', as it would require a few (other) new project threads to be set up (if we did that) from within all of the current four multi-project threads listed above, I would imagine.

ANYWAY,

This is more than you expected from a simple question, TPNE - I bet!!

So, for me, I would vote for a new 'Trinity Square' Project Thread . . . but if we do, can we discuss what should be done to 'harmonise' things, re the four 'multi-project' threads?

THREAD TITLES . .

Thanks for the above, it is an issue that I have talked about with Geordie Ahmed a while back, when we were discussing links from the 'Development Summary' and stuff, but we didn't reach a full conclusion.

(1) On the Newcastle Forum, we have individual 'Project Threads' for all Projects, and (until projects emerge from a location) we have 'Area Developments' threads, where we discuss issues up to the emergence (as said) of an actual new development/project, when the new Project Thread is then set up.

(2) There seems to be FOUR exceptions to this . . .

.....1 - Ouseburn | Projects
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=986148
.....2 - West End | Projects
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=981630
.....3 - Gateshead Town Centre | Projects
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=980936
.....4 - Newcastle Student Accommodation | Projects
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=981388

In other words, these four seem to be "Multi-Project" threads (NOT 'Area Developments' threads) with the implication of this being that any emerging projects just 'continue on' to be covered on this multi-project thread, and Individual Project Threads, are NOT set up!

(3) This, above, is just how our Forum has 'developed' and there is nothing wrong with it. The only slight problem is, that because these four are 'exceptions to the norm' (for our forum) the sort of potential slight confusion/question (that you have brought up about 'Trinity Square') can occur.

(4) My own view is that these four threads would be better off becoming 'Area Developments' threads, like all the others, and so that when projects (like Trinity Square) emerge, then a separate 'Project Thread' (like all our others of those) would automatically be set up.

That is just 'my view', as it would require a few (other) new project threads to be set up (if we did that) from within all of the current four multi-project threads listed above, I would imagine.

ANYWAY,

This is more than you expected from a simple question, TPNE - I bet!!

So, for me, I would vote for a new 'Trinity Square' Project Thread . . . but if we do, can we discuss what should be done to 'harmonise' things, re the four 'multi-project' threads?

Certainly I didn't realise the situation relating to these four remaining threads. I am in agreement with your views on it. I think it would be better to change the remaining four to Area Development threads and any project that emerges can then have it's own seperate project thread. This way it helps standardise the proceedure for thread creation and ensures every thread follows this. Not only this but larger projects such as Trinity Square can have it's own un-interrupted discussion.

It's butt ugly. I wouldn't mind a tall building. But this isn't it. This is just terrible and it too blocky and fat. It looks terrible in the views from Grey Street etc. The car park as it is looks better.

It's butt ugly. I wouldn't mind a tall building. But this isn't it. This is just terrible and it too blocky and fat. It looks terrible in the views from Grey Street etc. The car park as it is looks better.I agree with that, though I wouldn't go as far as saying the car park looks better, both about the same to be honest.

I'm sorry, but no, thats just aweful. The first close up shots look great (apart from the trees and stuff, which this country can't keep on top of to make them look nice), but everything else is just horrible. It's over sized, not shaped well, it just seems to be a block here, a block there, and a curve there so it's not too blocky. I'm sorry, very poor designs, the Tesco's itself looks pretty decent, but everything looks like an after thought, which is exactly what it is. I don't want to see that across the Tyne, and if I lived in Gateshead I would still be pushing for better.

I have a feeling that this will become what it has replaced, loved at first then hated for years to come.

Gateshead needs to take a note out of their own book on the riverside to come up with well designed buildings.

I pretty much agree with that. A long way better than what's there, but as you say "hated for years to come"?

I'm getting fed up of seeing this type of cheap looking current build architecture that uses a lot of crazy coloured plastics and curves. Will it be looked back on in years to come with horror like the concrete jungles of the 50s and 60s are now?

I'd rather see something that mixes the old style of say a Grainger Town with the modern.

A vast opportunity missed.

Well Gateshead is lucky enough to really be able to build anything of quality, unlike Newcastle that has to fit in with so many traditional buildings, but the Central buildings do this well (Times and Wellbar Central).

The thing is though, this is not quality, infact it reminds me of a Premier Inn in Doncaster that has recently been built, it looks good but it will start to look terrible in 5 years time. Gateshead can do more modern and less conservative buildings then Newcastle, however this scheme just lacks quality and Gateshead only has to look on it's own Queyside to see how well a well planned, though out, modern building building can look great.

FAO: Newcastle Historian

I have set up a project thread for Trinity Square that includes all of the images and information I included in my previous posts, aswell as any other relevant information such as websites and news. Could any relevant posts in relation to Trinity Square be moved to the new project thread? Thanks.

FAO: Newcastle Historian

I have set up a project thread for Trinity Square that includes all of the images and information I included in my previous posts, aswell as any other relevant information such as websites and news. Could any relevant posts in relation to Trinity Square be moved to the new project thread? Thanks.


Will do.

Also, as this thread is now no longer a Project Thread, I have changed its title . .

FROM

Gateshead Town Centre | Projects

TO

Gateshead Area - Developments

So, it is now an 'Area Developments' thread, like all the others.



NB: COVERAGE OF THE "GET CARTER CAR PARK" DEMOLITION (ETC) THAT HAS BEEN EXTENSIVELY COVERED (VIA 'NEWSPAPER ARTICLES' ETC)
ON THIS THREAD - WILL FROM NOW ON BE COVERED ON THE "TRINITY SQUARE | PROJECT" THREAD, HERE . . .

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1175839


.

Work starts on eco-homes project in Gateshead
August 22nd 2010, BBC News/Tyne, Website

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48826000/jpg/_48826167_ecohomes.jpg
The homes will have recharging points for electric cars

Work has begun to create a street of eco-homes on the site of a derelict filling station on Tyneside.

The site in Durham Road, Gateshead, has been abandoned for some years and has attracted complaints from neighbours.

Gateshead Council is behind the scheme to build nine energy-efficient homes which will utilise a bio-fuel heating system as well as solar panels.

Three of the homes, which are due to be completed by November, have already been sold.

The family-sized homes have been designed to blend into the Victorian frontage along Durham Road.

Each garage will also include a recharging point for an electric car.

Angela Douglas, Gateshead Council's cabinet member for housing, said: "These new homes will be among the most energy-efficient dwellings in the UK and will be yet another first for Gateshead.

"They will also remove a significant eyesore and replace it with a development which will enhance the streetscape."

The properties are being designed and built by Gateshead-based New Forest Construction.


ARTICLE HERE - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-11053246

I am surprised that the council has just made this announcement now. The contract was awarded to New Forest last summer and they started work on the site almost immediately. I realise that there would be a lot of ground work involved on the site of the old Wishaw House Garage with the probability of contamination from the fuel tanks but the timing seems odd especially when they say that the houses will be completed by November. I also worry when I read that they "have been designed to blend into the Victorian frontage along Durham Road". Gateshead hasn't got a good track record on that score as can be seen from Symphony Court on the opposite side of the road. Certainly the artist's impression doesn't fill me with confidence.

Anger at proposals to demolish Gateshead estate
August 29th 2010 by Sara Nichol, Sunday Sun

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/sundaysun/aug2010/9/9/ena-wilson-426384606.jpg

THESE sepia-tinted memories are all families will have of their doomed homes if town hall bulldozers move in.

The snaps show street party celebrations to mark Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding and the Queen’s Jubilee.

They belong to the daughter of one of the estate’s longest-serving residents.

But now hundreds of families and elderly folk face being re-housed over the next three years as the demolition plans take shape to flatten the Chandless Estate on the south banks of the Tyne in Gateshead.

The move has met with fury from many families in the close-knit community who have nearly half a century of memories of the 1960s development.

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/sundaysun/aug2010/2/8/chandless-estate-gateshead-447909303.jpg

Almost 100 people signed a petition to save the estate, which is close to Gateshead town centre and the planned Tesco development in Trinity Square.

Ena Wilson, 72, has lived on the estate for 48 years, first with her parents and now with husband James, 71, and son David, 33.

The mum-of-two said: “The estate holds some great memories. We used to have trips to Blackpool in the summer with the kids, which the residents organised.

“There was a brilliant community spirit - everyone looked out for each other and everyone was friends.

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/sundaysun/aug2010/0/2/chandless-estate-gateshead-245168823.jpg

“Many of us still do look out for each other and give each other house keys when we go on holiday.

“The residents all trust each other and that takes a long time to build-up. It will take a while to build-up when we are moved somewhere else.

“I remember the Queen’s Jubilee, that was a great day. We all got together to organise a party on the street. The kids played games, there was music playing, tables and chairs, Union Jack flags, banners and hats and food and drinks.

“We had another party for Prince Charles and Diane’s wedding. Again, everyone on the estate got together to celebrate.

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/sundaysun/aug2010/3/4/chandless-estate-gateshead-797421615.jpg

“It’s so sad the council are knocking the estate down - it’s like breaking-up a family. Some of us have been together for more than 40 years. Although we’re not related, it feels like we are and that we’re getting split-up.

“A lot of the memories and community spirit will disappear when the estate goes.

“We don’t want to move. We want the council to carry out some refurbishment. We’re in an ideal location for our age - really central and next to the Metro and buses.”

A group has also been set-up on social networking site Facebook, where members are coming together and sharing memories and photographs.

Sharon Whitelaw, 37, Mrs Wilson’s daughter, added: “The photos are great. There are some great memories I have from there as a kid.

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/sundaysun/aug2010/3/0/chandless-estate-gateshead-266668410.jpg

“I moved out when I was 21 but I have some very fond memories of the place and I know my parents love living there.”

David Fawcett, 62, who has lived on the estate for 16 years, said: “If we have to move, many of the tenants, including myself, wish to stay in the area.

“But council property within a one mile-radius of the town centre is at a premium and only two to three properties a week usually become available.


FULL ARTICLE HERE - http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2010/08/29/anger-at-proposals-to-demolish-gateshead-estate-79310-27157429/

Its coming down . . . .

If you'd never had a chance to look inside that top-floor restaurant before now (maybe I'm lucky that I had) then you can see right inside now!

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/Newcastle%203/Gateshead20car20park20demolition.jpg

You can appreciate the design of the ramping between each level better in this view - the vehicle ascent from right to left is clearly visible.

Acre Park business village is underway
September 29th 2010, by Peter McCusker, The Journal

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/JoiceyRdhousingplanGateshead.jpg

WORK has begun on an £8m business village providing 40,000sq ft of new office space in one of the few speculative developments to get off the ground in the region this year.

The Newcastle-based Adderstone Group’s 3 Acre Park development is on the site of the former open-air school at the junction of Durham Road and Joicey Road in Gateshead.

As well as converting the former buildings it will also include a new- build element in the remainder of the grounds with planning consent obtained for 40,000 sq ft of business space.

Adderstone Group bought the site from Gateshead Council for £265,000 earlier this year. Managing director Ian Baggett said: “Although margins are down, development is what we do. On the back of the success of our Quay West business park in Sunderland, we showed no hesitation in taking on this ambitious scheme.”

Adderstone was highly commended earlier this year in the RICS Rennaisance Awards for its Quay West development project in Sunderland. In the 12 months since the completion of Phase 1 it has achieved full occupancy with some 32 separate business tenants in approximately 60,000 sq ft of offices.

Mr Baggett added: “Despite the recession, neither of these schemes have needed any grant funding. We are proving that well-designed, speculative development remains viable in the North East.

“My team and I are particularly proud to be keeping hundreds of people in employment and creating long-term, quality workspace for many hundreds more.”

Main contractor Brims Construction has started on Phase 1 of the 3 Acre Park which will see the demolition of the more modern extensions, and a strip-out and asbestos removal from the existing Grade II-listed buildings, which will be retained and sympathetically converted. Enabling work carried out in previous weeks had involved the removal of almost 100 mature trees from what had become an overgrown and derelict site.


REST OF ARTICLE, HERE - http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/commercial-property-north-east/news/2010/09/29/acre-park-business-village-is-underway-51140-27359160/

Newcastle Uni 5th and 6th year architecture students are doing a one-week charrette based on the 3 P's high rise blocks and the surrounding area... Should be fun!

.
I don't know whether people think we should have a specific 'Project Thread' for this?

In the meantime . . .

Dunston Rocket tower vision gets approval
October 20th 2010, by Tony Henderson, Evening Chronicle

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/oct2010/5/3/an-artist-s-impression-of-the-retail-area-earmarked-for-dunston-which-will-be-built-once-the-rocket-tower-block-has-been-demolished-34215349.jpg

A VISION for the area around the landmark Dunston Rocket tower block has been approved.

Gateshead councillors have given the green light to detailed plans for the redevelopment of the Ravensworth Road area of Dunston, Gateshead, in the wake of the demolition of the Rocket.

Angela Douglas, cabinet member for housing, said: “This is an important step forward for the Ravensworth Road area.

“We now have a clear idea of what local people will want to see at the redeveloped Ravensworth Road and how we think this can be achieved.”

Proposals outlined in the planning brief, which would follow the demolition of Derwent Tower, known as the Rocket, and 116 adjacent maisonettes, would be included and the complete redevelopment of the site.

This would offer a range of homes, including affordable houses for rent by a social landlord, a supermarket, shop units, possibly a doctor’s surgery and a range of environmental improvements.

Gateshead Council began moving tenants out of the Owen Luder-designed tower into alternative accommodation in October 2007 because of health and safety concerns.

Those concerns centred on the tower’s structural condition, which has deteriorated over the years due to its form of construction and the materials used.

Many of the 196 flats suffered from damp, the car park has been flooded since the building opened in 1973, essential services broke down regularly and water pressure and heating were both poor.

The council says the tower would require many millions of pounds to make it habitable, but this is not thought to be cost-effective as very few people actually wish to live there. The tower has been empty for two years.

When Gateshead Council asked local residents how they thought the Ravensworth Road area should be redeveloped, 99% of tenants living in the maisonettes supported the demolition of Derwent Tower, and 78% also supported the demolition of the maisonettes.

Tenders for the demolition contract have now been received and are currently being evaluated. An announcement on the successful contractor and the likely start date of the demolition is expected to be made in a few weeks.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2010/10/20/dunston-rocket-tower-vision-gets-approval-72703-27509690/#ixzz12u9u8n8a

I have looked at the proposals on the Gateshead Council website and I am still none the wiser. The proposals all seem rather vague and include a lot of pictures of other places with little indication of what will actually replace the Rocket. There are a lot of more knowledgeable people on here who might be able to put me right. Especially can anyone explain this from the website: "Good pedestrian permeability on key desire lines". The details are here (a PDF file):

http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/DocumentLibrary/Building/regeneration/DraftRavensworthRoadUrbanVillageCorev2.pdf

Especially can anyone explain this from the website: "Good pedestrian permeability on key desire lines".

:lol:

Footpaths?

Doh!

North East Town Centre development criticised
November 22nd 2010, by Kerry Wood, The Journal


MAJOR developments intended to breathe new life into rundown North East towns could become a liability for the future, a report has warned.

The rebuild of Gateshead town centre is one of the examples listed in a report by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).

In it building experts warn redevelopments based around supermarkets must be designed for the long term to stop them becoming ghost towns, top architects have said.

In the case of Gateshead CABE officers have raised “significant concerns” about the long-term social, economic and environmental sustainability of the £150m Trinity Square development, set to replace the scrapped Get Carter car park.

Other projects in the region the findings could apply to include Consett town centre, in County Durham, and the proposed building of a new retail park in Sunderland.

Following an in-depth review of the plans submitted by Tesco to transform Gateshead town centre CABE officers said: “It seems particularly crucial that Gateshead centre should not be dominated by another monolithic development and more work needs to be done to ensure that this will be successful.” Other criticisms included the quality of development’s spaces and car park, a new street linking the square with Jackson Street feeling unsafe at night, a large service ramp on Lampton Street needing to be better hidden and the entrance to student halls from the High Street being unacceptable and its location questionable.

But David Nieberg, from Tesco, said: “We talk to local communities and planning authorities all the time to make sure our developments meet local needs and expectations.

“And we apply the highest design standards. This report is out-of-date and inaccurate. It talks about applications that are no longer live and misrepresents those that are.”

The review comes after CABE scrutinised 30 large scale supermarket-led developments across the country.


Read More - http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2010/11/22/north-east-town-centre-developments-are-criticised-61634-27692242/#ixzz1608u9pQm

Absolutely correct for it to be criticised. It's not going to improve Gateshead or make it more accessible. Huge missed opportunity.

CABE are spot on here. It won't stop the development being waved through, but I hope in years to come people remember which politicians it was that waved this through...

Dunston Rocket set to be flattened by locals
December 1st 2010, by Amy Hunt, Evening Chronicle

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/dec2010/3/1/the-tower-block-known-as-the-rocket-92607996.jpg

TYNESIDE workers are being sought to help bring down the landmark Dunston Rocket tower block. The Gateshead tower block, known as The Rocket, is to be pulled down next year and replaced with low-rise homes, shops and community facilities.

The contract to demolish the 29-storey Tower, which was designed by Owen Luder who was also the brains behind the town’s Get Carter Car Park, was awarded by Gateshead Council earlier this month.

Birmingham-based demolition contractor Coleman and Company will do the work. But instead of bringing in workers from their West Midlands base, the company has decided to recruit a local workforce. The hope is the tower’s demolition will bring benefits to the area by providing employment and ensuring much of the funding earmarked for the building’s demolition will remain in the Tyneside area.

The company wants site supervisors and managers, soft-strip gangs and labourers.

Demolition of Derwent Tower and its adjacent maisonettes is expected to begin early in the 2011 and last 18 months.

Once Derwent Tower and the 116 maisonettes have been demolished, Gateshead Council will bring forward plans to redevelop the Ravensworth Road area. Proposals include new homes, a supermarket, a number of shop units, and possibly a doctor’s surgery.

The redevelopment is expected to take place over five to six years.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2010/12/01/dunston-rocket-set-to-be-flattened-by-locals-72703-27748894/#ixzz16s3UXqus

The contract to demolish the 29-storey Tower, which was designed by Owen Luder who was also the brains behind the town’s Get Carter Car Park, was awarded by Gateshead Council earlier this month.

Birmingham-based demolition contractor Coleman and Company will do the work.

EH?! Hang on, I thought Thompsons did ever scrap of demolition in this region..? They won't be happy!

Terrace Hill lets top floor at Baltimore House
26 November 2010 | By Mark Wilding

Terrace Hill has let the top floor of Baltimore House, its recently completed 24,315 sq ft office building at Baltic Business Quarter.


A fit out on the top floor of the property has created a business centre comprising 10 offices ranging from 150 to 1,000 sq ft.

Tenants include Evolution Sports Marketing, Ace Mould, JDI Legal, Lenze and UKC. The space was let on flexible terms, with short leases available and a range of incentives.

Martin Vickerman, development director at Terrace Hill, said: “Given the significant level of interest we have received we are now considering expanding the concept to other floors at Baltimore House providing a range of accommodation from 200 to 2,000 sq ft.”

DTZ advised Terrace Hill. Michael O’Driscoll from DTZ Newcastle said: “We increasingly hear from growing companies looking for flexible and affordable office accommodation in Newcastle and Gateshead.

“Baltic is a great development and one of its major attractions to occupiers lies in the fact that that it offers all the benefits and conveniences of out-of-town office accommodation within minutes of Newcastle city centre.”


Source: Propertyweek

Demolition starts on historic Dunston Rocket
by Joanne Butcher, Evening Chronicle, January 17th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/jan2011/8/9/derwent-tower-in-dunston-also-know-as-the-dunston-rocket-179558196.jpg

It has towered over the Tyneside skyline for decades. Today work started on the demolition of Gateshead's Dunston Rocket.

The 29-storey tower block, designed by architect Owen Luder, is being flattened to make way for low-rise homes, shops and community facilities.

Its fall follows the demolition of Gateshad’s infamous Get Carter Car Park, also designed by Luder and made famous by the 1971 Michael Caine film, which was pulled down last year.

Demolition of the Derwent Tower, and nearby maisonettes, is expected to take around 18 months and is being carried out by Birmingham-based contractor Coleman and Company.

But instead of bringing in workers from their West Midlands home, the company decided to recruit a local workforce.

The hope is the tower’s demolition will bring benefits to the area by providing employment and ensuring much of the funding earmarked for the work will remain in the Tyneside area.

And today, the first of those local gangs began stripping out the interior of the 280ft-high block.

The job, which is expected to take a couple of months, will prepare the site before the bulldozers get started on dismantling the exterior.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/01/17/demolition-starts-on-historic-dunston-rocket-72703-28000447/#ixzz1BIYQfe2W

.

Hmm .. not sure about the 'local gangs' reference. I'm sure they will be suitably qualified for the job!

Yes, perhaps they've been a bit too casual with that comment, and should have gone for 'builders gangs'...

It does sound as if a bunch of pikeys have broken in and started pinching the copper!

re - Trinity Square Development

Looking through Gateshead's proposals from a year or two ago there seems to be a real interest in building a cable car from the Town Centre to the Quayside, which seems utterly bonkers.

I'd like to see a permanent 'Gateshead Wheel' on the site near HMS Tin Roof Monstrosity, erm Calliope

Yes, ''local gangs'' isn't exactly a good choice of words.

Any thoughts on how Gateshead's Dunston Rocket will be demolished? I doubt explosives will be used due to the sheer scale of the building and it's surroundings. Therefore I imagine they'll be erecting a crane and scaffolding which would explain why it'll take 18 months to demolish.

Any thoughts on how Gateshead's Dunston Rocket will be demolished?

Launched into space? Im sure someone with a bit of photoshopping skill can knock up how that would look...we have lift off!

re - Trinity Square Development

Looking through Gateshead's proposals from a year or two ago there seems to be a real interest in building a cable car from the Town Centre to the Quayside, which seems utterly bonkers.

I remember that, I think it was supposedly modelled on the one in Barcelona though on a much smaller scale, ie both a tourist attraction as well as a practical way to travel up a steep slope. Though not as picturesque maybe, the Parc Guell has nothing on the HMS Calliope!

I remember that, I think it was supposedly modelled on the one in Barcelona though on a much smaller scale, ie both a tourist attraction as well as a practical way to travel up a steep slope. Though not as picturesque maybe, the Parc Guell has nothing on the HMS Calliope!

:lol:

The whole plan is very similar to Barcelona. The idea of demolishing Gateshead Highway and creating a Ramblas style effect (can you imagine?!) nearly had me on the floor

Just seems that Gateshead isn't looking at its real problems. I was there today for the first time in ages and was shocked. The Old Co-Op has had a cheap conversion into low price shopping units, Jackson Street and High Street are disaster zones, aiming at the lowest of the low and even failing in that regard

To me the policy of Mick Henry and gang is to paint over the cracks with museums and culture. It doesn't help that Civic Centre looks like a new build prison either. The nicest part of Gateshead is its transport interchange.

:lol:

The whole plan is very similar to Barcelona. The idea of demolishing Gateshead Highway and creating a Ramblas style effect (can you imagine?!) nearly had me on the floor

Just seems that Gateshead isn't looking at its real problems. I was there today for the first time in ages and was shocked. The Old Co-Op has had a cheap conversion into low price shopping units, Jackson Street and High Street are disaster zones, aiming at the lowest of the low and even failing in that regard

To me the policy of Mick Henry and gang is to paint over the cracks with museums and culture. It doesn't help that Civic Centre looks like a new build prison either. The nicest part of Gateshead is its transport interchange.

I think Gateshead council made use of what public funding was available with regards to the Gateshead Quays developments.
A lot of the money was obtained from the lottery for example, and if the funding had not been secured for the likes of the Sage or the Baltic the money wouldn't have been available to spend on shops.
In fact the money spent on the Gateshead Quays would have been lost to other parts of the country.
And people would now be moaning about that !

That's a fair point but I think outside of that space Gateshead's whole attitude is misplaced when it comes to regeneration of the non-tourist areas.

That awful Wilkinsons building ought to have been included in the demolition if they wanted to revive!

The whole thing with Trinity is that it dragged on for so long that there was increasing pressure from the local meeeedia and disgruntled residents simply sick of the car park that it played aptly into Spenhill/Tesco Arms when Gateshead accepted the deal

Sneak Preview of Gateshead Library Revamp
by Linda Richards, Evening Chronicle, January 21st 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/jan2011/7/7/contractors-david-thompson-and-lee-mcgowan-erect-new-signage-at-gateshead-library-814255874.jpg

A NEW chapter is set to start in the life of an 84-year-old Tyneside library.

As the finishing touches of a £2.5m makeover were being made to Gateshead Central Library, the Chronicle was given a sneak preview of what book borrowers can expect ahead of January 29 reopening.

Behind-the-scenes shots show how the 1926 building has been extended and improved.

Paintwork gleams as bright lights shine down on the contractors and library staff completing the work, with the last of the 75,000 books set to go in over the next few days.

The redevelopment has also seen the building’s original grand entrance returned to its former splendour.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/01/21/sneak-preview-of-gateshead-library-revamp-72703-28030332/#ixzz1BgVUeqel

I'd heard that the Jolly Miller in Low Fell on Durham Road, which closed down last year was going to become flats, anyone able to confirm or deny this?

It's in remarkable condition for being left open (no window shutters etc) for so long

Artists use town’s empty shops as canvas
by Tony Henderson, Evening Chronicle, January 27th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/jan2011/1/8/faultlines-by-nick-kennedy-is-being-progressively-unveiled-this-week-in-an-empty-shop-window-near-the-entrance-to-the-high-level-bridge-555316358.jpg

POTS of paint at the ready, artists are brightening up a Tyneside town centre.

Gateshead Council has commissioned the local artists to use blank roller shutters, empty shops and other town centre locations as “canvases” for their work.

Called Shop Art, the Government-funded project aims to make use of empty buildings to bring colour and interest to the town centre.

One work – titled Faultlines by Nick Kennedy – is being progressively unveiled this week in an empty shop window near the entrance to the High Level Bridge and will be completed tomorrow.

This work is slowly taking shape over a period of four days as the artist gradually transforms a whitewashed window into an artwork by creating lines on it each day until the design fills the whole window.

Over the coming weeks, eight different works of art will be unveiled throughout Gateshead Town Centre.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/01/27/artists-use-town-s-empty-shops-as-canvas-72703-28065432/#ixzz1CFkcWYjX

Birtley could lose supermarket after buyout
by Sonia Sharma, Evening Chronicle, January 28th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/jan2011/7/6/several-netto-stores-could-face-closure-due-to-competition-rules-after-being-acquired-by-asda-100190520.jpg

SHOPPERS in a Tyneside suburb could be left without a major supermarket.

Retail giant Asda is being forced to sell the Netto store in Birtley, Gateshead, because of competition fears.

Asda snapped up 194 Netto outlets last year, but a Government department threatened to refer the merger to a watchdog unless Asda made moves to sell stores in some local areas.

The Office of Fair Trading ruled the Birtley Netto was too near to Asda superstores in the surrounding area.

Blaydon MP Dave Anderson is concerned a buyer won’t be found and Birtley town centre will be hit by a second blow after a Somerfield store closed in April 2009.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/01/28/birtley-could-lose-supermarket-after-buyout-72703-28072237/#ixzz1CKyWyXbF

That's an utterly mad decision

It would leave Birtley without a supermarket and finally kill that town centre.

Nearest ASDA's I assume are the one at the Galleries and then Boldon, neither of which are that accessible from Birtley if you rely on public transport.

Added to that, it'd be less than a quarter of the size of the other stores. Surely it's not against competition when you don't have any competition in the area to begin with?!

If that's the case how did the Co-Op get away with buying Low Fell Sommerfield when they already had Wrekenton!

Gateshead church to become arts base
BBC Tyne Website, 6th February 2011

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51120000/gif/_51120358_church.gif
A dozen work areas will be created in the building.

A Grade II listed church in Gateshead is being converted to house budding artists and designers in a project that will create almost 20 new jobs.

Brighton Road United Reformed Church will be used to create work areas for a range of creative businesses.

The Mushroom Works Community Interest Company, which is behind the project, won funding of £450,000 from the European Union and the Arts Council.

The scheme is seen as bolstering a so-called "creative cluster" in Gateshead


Read More - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-12376351

Birtley could lose supermarket after buyout
by Sonia Sharma, Evening Chronicle, January 28th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/jan2011/7/6/several-netto-stores-could-face-closure-due-to-competition-rules-after-being-acquired-by-asda-100190520.jpg

SHOPPERS in a Tyneside suburb could be left without a major supermarket.

Retail giant Asda is being forced to sell the Netto store in Birtley, Gateshead, because of competition fears.

Asda snapped up 194 Netto outlets last year, but a Government department threatened to refer the merger to a watchdog unless Asda made moves to sell stores in some local areas.

The Office of Fair Trading ruled the Birtley Netto was too near to Asda superstores in the surrounding area.

Blaydon MP Dave Anderson is concerned a buyer won’t be found and Birtley town centre will be hit by a second blow after a Somerfield store closed in April 2009.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/01/28/birtley-could-lose-supermarket-after-buyout-72703-28072237/#ixzz1CKyWyXbF



Netto store may have shut after Asda deal
by Dan Warburton, Evening Chronicle, February 8th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/feb2011/5/9/netto-supermarket-in-birtley-538838170.jpg
Netto supermarket in Birtley

A closure-threatened Netto store has been reprieved after an MP raised the issue in Parliament.

The supermarket in Birtley, Gateshead, was on a hit-list of stores to be sold after Asda bought the smaller chain last year.

Asda snapped up 194 Netto outlets across the country, but a Government department threatened to refer the merger to a watchdog unless Asda made moves to sell stores in some local areas.

The Office of Fair Trading informed Asda of the areas where they had concerns and the Birtley branch was earmarked as being too close to the Asda superstore in Washington.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/02/08/netto-store-may-have-shut-after-asda-deal-72703-28133617/#ixzz1DNvv1prO

Netto store may have shut after Asda deal
by Dan Warburton, Evening Chronicle, February 8th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/feb2011/5/9/netto-supermarket-in-birtley-538838170.jpg
Netto supermarket in Birtley

A closure-threatened Netto store has been reprieved after an MP raised the issue in Parliament.

The supermarket in Birtley, Gateshead, was on a hit-list of stores to be sold after Asda bought the smaller chain last year.

Asda snapped up 194 Netto outlets across the country, but a Government department threatened to refer the merger to a watchdog unless Asda made moves to sell stores in some local areas.

The Office of Fair Trading informed Asda of the areas where they had concerns and the Birtley branch was earmarked as being too close to the Asda superstore in Washington.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/02/08/netto-store-may-have-shut-after-asda-deal-72703-28133617/#ixzz1DNvv1prO


Theres no real change. The store was always going to stay open until a buyer came in

What the Chron didn't report is that bids have been made on the old Sommerfield store which came out in the Question time.

Not strictly in the catchment area of this thread but definitely retail. I saw a couple of painters laboriously stencilling these arrows on to the shutters but what do they mean?

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/Other/SAM_2642.jpg

It's in Gateshead High Street in what was originally Doggarts department store and most recently Kwiksave. Does it mean anything to anyone?

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/Other/SAM_2644.jpg

Gateshead in one word - Amy Mackelden, Colin Davies and Liam Murray

This project celebrates what makes Gateshead special to local people.

Amy Mackelden worked with residents to find words that describe what Gateshead means to them, and these ideas have been transformed into art works by Colin Davies and Liam Murray. Four of these words - "Up", "Tasty", "Joy" and "Wish" - cover shutters and walls in Gateshead Centre.

Location: "Up" - former Kwik Save, High Street South

You can join Amy for some creative writing workshops to look at artworks in Gateshead Centre and write six-word stories of what Gateshead means to you.

Whether you're new to creative writing or an experienced story teller, come along to the fun and informal workshops on:

Thursday 10 February 1pm - 3pm
Friday 11 February 10am - 12pm
Tuesday 15 February 6pm - 8pm
Wednesday 16 February 6pm - 8pm

All workshops will be held at The Shed, Creative Studios, 348-354 High Street South

Does anyone have any photos of the flats at St James Village under construction? I'm trying to get an idea of what materials they used and what the build quality is like. Also, does anyone on here actually live there or have any experience of the place? I'm considering the possibility of buying one of the flats there.

Gateshead in one word - Amy Mackelden, Colin Davies and Liam Murray

This project celebrates what makes Gateshead special to local people.

Amy Mackelden worked with residents to find words that describe what Gateshead means to them, and these ideas have been transformed into art works by Colin Davies and Liam Murray. Four of these words - "Up", "Tasty", "Joy" and "Wish" - cover shutters and walls in Gateshead Centre.

Location: "Up" - former Kwik Save, High Street South

You can join Amy for some creative writing workshops to look at artworks in Gateshead Centre and write six-word stories of what Gateshead means to you.

Whether you're new to creative writing or an experienced story teller, come along to the fun and informal workshops on:

Thursday 10 February 1pm - 3pm
Friday 11 February 10am - 12pm
Tuesday 15 February 6pm - 8pm
Wednesday 16 February 6pm - 8pm

All workshops will be held at The Shed, Creative Studios, 348-354 High Street South

Interesting concept but one I fear will be lost on regular 'users' of Gateshead High Street, quite frankly one of the most depressing and arguably, threatning places I've been in my life

Does anyone have any photos of the flats at St James Village under construction? I'm trying to get an idea of what materials they used and what the build quality is like. Also, does anyone on here actually live there or have any experience of the place? I'm considering the possibility of buying one of the flats there.

Yeah i've sort of lived there.

Not sure what your asking really because i don't know much about materials etc.

The flats seemed well made (to me) but the hallways or entrances to the flats seemed of less quality.

The shapes are quite weird inside ie: living room etc, but they give you a weird shape room to play wth which can be fun if your adventurous.

Thanks, yeah I've had a look around a few of them. I was just interested in whether anyone had any photos of the estate under construction. They might make it easier to see the materials used beneath the bricks.

Fire at Tyne Bridge Tower...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-12645475

Demolition update for Derwent Tower

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j401/forsakenarchitecture0001/_NGT0475.jpg

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j401/forsakenarchitecture0001/_NGT0495.jpg

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j401/forsakenarchitecture0001/_NGT0514.jpg

Why don't they just implode the thing and get it over with?

Not wanting my lens to shatter, I kept my distance this time and used the telephoto from Central Newcastle:

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j401/forsakenarchitecture0001/_NGT0643A.jpg

Former Federation Brewery is put on the market
by Peter McCusker, The Journal, March 16th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nebusiness/mar2011/6/4/the-federation-brewery-in-dunston-gateshead-29507543.jpg

THE former home of Newcastle Breweries has been put up for sale with a £2m asking price and developers are looking at a number of the possibilities for its future use.

In May last year the former Federation Brewery, next to the A1 in Dunston, Gateshead, ceased production bringing to end an 82-year history of brewing in the region.

Heineken UK, the brewery’s owners which had moved production to Yorkshire, has now put the 17-acre site up for sale.

Newcastle property agents Gavin Black & Partners has been instructed to look for purchasers. It says the site is attracting interest from a wide range of parties for a variety of uses. Among those being considered include distribution and logistics, retail, leisure and mixed use.

Partner Gavin Black said: “It is one of the largest sites in the Gateshead/Newcastle conurbation with excellent access to the A1, close to the Metrocentre and Team Valley.

“As a result the options for redevelopment in part or as whole are immense as well as the ability to utilise the existing frame within the production building to add a further 400,000sq ft.


Read More (Two Pages) - http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/commercial-property-north-east/news/2011/03/16/former-federation-brewery-is-put-on-the-market-51140-28345206/

Gateshead College developers named
by Peter McCusker, The Journal, March 16th 2011

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/Newcastle%203/16thMar11_0001.jpg

NORTH East developer UK Land Estates has been appointed as developer for the second phase of Gateshead College Construction Centre on the Team Valley.

The new development, which will complete the college’s Team Valley Campus, consists of a 50,000sq ft training facility.

It will include a 40% extension to the current workshop space and the creation of a central Hub which will contain classrooms, staff accommodation, library and IT centres, a cafe and fitness centre and all all-weather pitch alongside the building.

The development is being funded solely from college reserves and is scheduled to open in September. The extension will ensure students and construction industry employers can further benefit from the college’s experience in delivering specialist training in green and renewable energy technologies.

Adrian Bartle, construction director of UK Land Estates, said: “UK Land Estates built the two previous buildings on behalf of Gateshead College on Team Valley and we are delighted to be appointed on the third and final building.

“We have worked closely with Gateshead College for over a year to secure planning consent and to ensure that the building is as green as possible and adheres to their environmental efficiency strategies. We hope that the new campus will create the construction entrepreneurs of the future.”

UK Land Estates has appointed STP Construction to carry out the building works, which will utilise the existing frame of current building.


Read More - http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/commercial-property-north-east/news/2011/03/16/gateshead-college-developers-named-51140-28340759/

Hi,
I've just become aware of a scheme to develop the site between Askew Road and the railway line, immediately to the south of Ochre Yards. This will also incorporate the site of the former filling station opposite Gateshead International Business Centre.

Barton Willmore of Leeds is acting on behalf of the above two clients to "develop the site for offices, hotel, restaurant and storage uses and will be submitting a planning application for these uses to Gateshead Council".

There is an exhibition in the Gateshead Heritage centre at St Marys church next to The Sage on Monday 21st March 2011 from 4pm to 7pm.

I was aware that the site previously had plans for two-storey warehouse style units, but this was around about the year 2000.

Does anyone else have any information on this scheme?

Thanks for the info. Interesting site, that one, would love to see it developed. Any further info or images?

Former Federation Brewery is put on the market
by Peter McCusker, The Journal, March 16th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nebusiness/mar2011/6/4/the-federation-brewery-in-dunston-gateshead-29507543.jpg

THE former home of Newcastle Breweries has been put up for sale with a £2m asking price and developers are looking at a number of the possibilities for its future use.

Read More (Two Pages) - http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/commercial-property-north-east/news/2011/03/16/former-federation-brewery-is-put-on-the-market-51140-28345206/


This ADVERT is in the Journal of 22nd March 2011 . .
http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/Newcastle%203/SaleofFedBreweryDunston-March2011.jpg

I should imagine that would be a perfect site for Moto.

Gateshead shops hit by five years of works
by Tom Keighley, Evening Chronicle, March 28th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/mar2011/1/4/pat-hadfield-from-gateshead-whose-business-is-being-hit-by-demolition-works-in-bensham-and-saltwell-628254066.jpg
Pat Hadfield, from Gateshead, whose business is being hit by demolition works in Bensham and Saltwell

SHOPKEEPERS say their businesses have been blighted by a council bid to breathe new life into their area.

About 400 flats are being demolished in the Bensham and Saltwell areas of Gateshead to make way for new homes.

The regeneration started five years ago, with the promise it would be complete within 18 months.

But with no end to the works in sight, shopkeepers in and around the redevelopment area have had enough.

Pat Hadfield runs Maxam clothes shop in Bensham’s Saltwell Road – a business that has been in her family for nearly 40 years.

She said: “The council said there would only be 18 months of tough times while the works went ahead, but that was five years ago.

“We were told the council could help us with art ideas. They suggested painting circles on the road with the names of the shops in them, but what use will that be?”


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/03/28/gateshead-shops-hit-by-five-years-of-works-72703-28415836/#ixzz1HtzETsnu

Not sure what this development is called, or if there is a specific thread for it, but it's the big site over from Gateshead College (Quarryfield Road / Hawks Road) where the Open University building is. "Design Centre" I belive I've seen it referred to as?

Please feel free to move it to relevant thread if there is one:

24th March 2011

http://www.entertainment-newcastle.com/images/gateshead20110324_1.jpg

http://www.entertainment-newcastle.com/images/gateshead20110324_2.jpg

http://www.entertainment-newcastle.com/images/gateshead20110324_3.jpg

yeah it's the northern design centre, part of the baltic business quarter as seen in this thread:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=983282

unfortunately the orb thingy is no longer going on the roof - pity.

Not sure what this development is called, or if there is a specific thread for it, but it's the big site over from Gateshead College (Quarryfield Road / Hawks Road) where the Open University building is. "Design Centre" I belive I've seen it referred to as?

Please feel free to move it to relevant thread if there is one:




Copies placed onto the Baltic Business Quarter | Gateshead | Various Fl | U/C thread, as requested.

Thank you :-)

Evolution Gateshead to build 2,400 new houses
by Adrian Pearson, Evening Chronicle, April 13th 2011


A THREE-year search ended as the developer to revamp Gateshead was selected.

The council has now chosen the developer which will build new homes on 19 sites across the borough.

Evolution Gateshead, a consortium of Home Group and Galliford Try, will construct a total of 2,400 new houses.

The 19 sites, which are already in council ownership or are in the process of being acquired and include both greenfield and brownfield sites, will be developed over 15-20 years.

Homes will be built at Birtley Northside, the former Rail Freight Depot on the Felling bypass, and sites in Rowlands Gill, Chopwell and Bensham and Saltwell.

In announcing Evolution Gateshead as the preferred developer, the council has brought to a close a two-and-half year search for a development partner to meet the council’s ambitious vision for the borough.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/04/13/evolution-gateshead-to-build-2-400-new-houses-72703-28513051/#ixzz1JPpT1qhE

.
Evening Chronicle, Wednesday 20th April 2011 . .
http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/Newcastle%203/StGeorgesChurch-April2011_0001.jpg

more info about that application here:

http://planning.gateshead.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=LJU59UHK07L00&searchtype=WEEKLY

seems the scheme includes outline designs for a 6 storey hotel block.

Can see images of that at the architect's website - http://www.fitzarchitects.co.uk/commercial-askewroad.php

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/5875/askew2.jpg

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/1512/askew.jpg

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/5056/askew1.jpg

£15m Gateshead scheme would create 150 jobs
by Peter McCusker, The Journal, May 4th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nebusiness/may2011/7/7/an-artist-s-impression-of-the-new-network-rail-building-on-askew-road-gateshead-283154031.jpg
An artist's impression of the new Network Rail building on Askew Road, Gateshead

A £15m scheme to redevelop a brownfield site with new offices, a hotel and restaurant creating 150 jobs will go for planning approval next month.

Network Rail and Newcastle-based 3R Land and Property have joined forces to lodge plans to develop a two-hectare site on Askew Road, Gateshead.

The proposed scheme, which will go before Gateshead Council on June 15, will regenerate the plot by creating a new North East maintenance centre for Network Rail, and a mixed-use development for 3R Land & Property.


Read More - http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/commercial-property-north-east/news/2011/05/04/15m-gateshead-scheme-would-create-150-jobs-51140-28628645/

A while ago I mentioned the appearance of the word "UP" painted on the shutters of the old Doggarts building on Gateshead High Street more recently known as Kwik Save. Johnnypd kindly informed me that it was part of an art project - Gateshead in one word - Amy Mackelden, Colin Davies and Liam Murray with a little help from the local council I found out this:

Amy Mackelden worked with residents to find words that describe what Gateshead means to them, and these ideas have been transformed into art works by Colin Davies and Liam Murray. Four of these words - "Up", "Tasty", "Joy" and "Wish" - cover shutters and walls in Gateshead Centre.

"UP" I had already and "TASTY" is here:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/Other/tasty.jpg

But "Joy" and "Wish" are proving elusive, however I have discovered others:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/Other/mint.jpg

That was difficult to get without standing in the middle of a busy Park Lane but appears to say "MINT"

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/Other/cando.jpg

I presume it says "CAN DO" when the final shutter is in place.

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/Other/100_0847.jpg

This one seems to be an independent effort but they all brighten up those drab shutters.

Work starts on eco-homes project in Gateshead
August 22nd 2010, BBC News/Tyne, Website

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48826000/jpg/_48826167_ecohomes.jpg
The homes will have recharging points for electric cars

Work has begun to create a street of eco-homes on the site of a derelict filling station on Tyneside. The site in Durham Road, Gateshead, has been abandoned for some years and has attracted complaints from neighbours.

Gateshead Council is behind the scheme to build nine energy-efficient homes which will utilise a bio-fuel heating system as well as solar panels. Each garage will also include a recharging point for an electric car.

Angela Douglas, Gateshead Council's cabinet member for housing, said: "These new homes will be among the most energy-efficient dwellings in the UK and will be yet another first for Gateshead.

"They will also remove a significant eyesore and replace it with a development which will enhance the streetscape." The properties are being designed and built by Gateshead-based New Forest Construction.

Read More - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-11053246


This looks like the same place . . . though the original article (above, from August 22nd last year) only refers to it being "on the site of a derelict filling station", while today's article (Evening Chronicle, Saturday 7th May 2011) only refers to it being on "the site of the Springfield Hotel" . . .

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/Newcastle%203/SpringfieldHotelSite_0001.jpg
http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/Newcastle%203/SpringfieldHotelSite_0002.jpg

NH, it looks like another bit of sloppy reporting by the Chronicle. The houses illustrated are actually on the site of the old Wishaw House Garage on the other side of Durham Road. These are the Helen McArdle Select Living Apartments as shown on her website:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/Other/Select-Living-Apartments.jpg

It looks like the frontage is actually on Dryden Road just round the corner from the new nursing home.

Urgh.

I didn't realise the site was so big to fit in a care home, a kids day care centre and 21 homes!

Amy Mackelden worked with residents to find words that describe what Gateshead means to them, and these ideas have been transformed into art works by Colin Davies and Liam Murray. Four of these words - "Up", "Tasty", "Joy" and "Wish" - cover shutters and walls in Gateshead Centre.

But "Joy" and "Wish" are proving elusive, however I have discovered others:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/Other/mint.jpg

That was difficult to get without standing in the middle of a busy Park Lane but appears to say "MINT"



WISH is on the adjacent wall to MINT, next to the flats. Sorry, no help with JOY though.

Coatsworth Road to be restored to Victorian splendour:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-13419572

Coatsworth Road to be restored to Victorian splendour:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-13419572

Superb idea, it really could be Gateshead's beating heart. Shame that the only pub on it shut down though.

Gibside estate area protected from mining threat
BBC Newcastle Tyne Website, 11th June 2011

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/53363000/jpg/_53363823_gibside.jpg
The farmland adjoins and was once part of the Gibside estate

The National Trust has bought 150 acres of farmland on Tyneside to stop it being turned over to opencast mining.

The £500,000 deal will protect the site which once formed part of the Gibside estate in Gateshead, and has been subject to applications for mining.

People are now being asked for their views on how the green space could be use to serve the local community.

Some of the ideas being put forward are new walking routes, a farm visitor attraction and various eco-projects.

"The shadow of centuries of heavy industry and pollution hangs over the area and many local people don't want to return to that.


Read More - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13738798

In Feb 2010 we had a discussion about bas relief on a house in Bensham Road and I said that I would try to get some pictures. Unfortunately the accumulation of years of grime made the panels difficult to make out:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/SAM_0391-1.jpg

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/SAM_2721.jpg

But recently the owners have cleaned up their act:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/100_2219-2.jpg

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/100_2218-1.jpg


What a difference!

That area, where Bensham Road, Derwentwater Road and Cuthbert Street all meet, is a rather fascinating one.

It has changed so much in the last 40 years. Derwentwater Road has been blocked off, the church has been de-consecrated and is now used to sell mirrors (!) and the beautiful old Methodist chapel has been demolished. Cuthbert Street has had ALL its buildings demolished apart from the old Social Club which has become an old folks home.

The mini on the right hand side is where that house with the reliefs is situated.

http://isee.gateshead.gov.uk/Local%20Studies%20Photos/Jpgs/GL010971.jpg

reminds me of something you'd see in Glasgow that methodist hall - very nice.

reminds me of something you'd see in Glasgow that methodist hall - very nice.


Yes indeed it is (sadly 'was') an excellent example, and quite (as you say) reminiscent of some you still see in Glasgow.

Now that we have, going back to and including the discussions earlier this year about bas relief, quite a few interesting factual posts about Bensham, I have set up a section on it (with links to all the posts) in the INDEX Thread, as there wasn't one for BENSHAM before now!

This the top of Derwentwater Road just to the left of Merleb's picture of the Methodist Chapel taken I would guess shortly before that street was demolished too:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/DerwentwaterRoad.jpg

Photograph from http://isee.gateshead.gov.uk

Down Bensham Bank on the same side is Bensham Grove which is a wonderful old house once the home of Robert Spence Watson. This description of it when it was first occupied by the Watson family always amuses me:

In the early 1800's Joshua Watson, a Quaker and a cheesemonger, living over his shop in Newcastle Upon Tyne purchased Bensham Grove in Bensham, Gateshead. The River Tyne, although not as polluted as it was to become, was already showing signs of the hive of industry and commerce it was to be in the future. It was no surprise therefore that Joshua was attracted to the golden cornfield, bluebell woods and windmills of Bensham as it was at the time. He bought it as a country cottage, near enough to continue his business next to the river but rural and healthy for his children.

Within about 60 years it started to become filled with large Victorian houses and row upon row of small back to back flats running down the steep slope to the Tyne. Some of the streets I remember where so steep the pavements were stepped and had handrails.

Probably the biggest surviving house after Bensham Grove is Cotfield House once the home and surgery of Dr. Chalk who ministered to the Jewish community as well as anyone else who wished to join his practice including my father:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/SAM_0401.jpg

This the top of Derwentwater Road just to the left of Merleb's picture of the Methodist Chapel taken I would guess shortly before that street was demolished too:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/DerwentwaterRoad.jpg

Photograph from http://isee.gateshead.gov.uk

]

Because this image of the top of Derwentwater Road is virtually from the same angle as my earlier pic you can see that it actually features evidence that the chapel was demolished first. At the top left is the retaining wall of the building behind the chapel (thus indicating it has been demolished already) of what is now the Old Folks Home (old Bensham Arts Club).

Well spotted, Merleb. This is destined for the Adverts thread but it has one of the few references I have found of the Aventine as it was known locally. The full title was a bit of a mouthful:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/ads0027.jpg

The ad is from the Gateshead Post in 1975.

And here is the Aventine in parlous condition. Note all the buildings on the east side of Cuthbert Street are gone.

Now an old folks home.

[http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/Newcastle%203/LS000150.jpg

The bus on the right hand side is opposite the Aventine and shows what used to be on Cuthbert St.

This pic gives another angle for the now demolished shops at the junctions of Cuthbert, Derwentwater and Bensham Roads.

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/Newcastle%203/GL000225.jpg

The "For Sale" sign has disappeared and there are builders (or demolition men?) working inside of the Honeysuckle on Coatsworth Road.

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/100_2239.jpg

I can't find any planning request for a change of use so perhaps it is going to be a pub again. There was a planning application in April for a three antennae radio base station to be built on the roof but it was refused because of "damage to a listed building/conservation area" and "insufficent information". As far as I know it is not a listed building but as we have discussed previously it is in a conservation area which is going to be upgraded. After the fire a couple of years ago I suspect it will require a lot work.

That area could really do with a high quality pub, I won't hold my breath though...

That area could really do with a high quality pub, I won't hold my breath though...

Rest assured the Honey was never a high quality pub. For years service for the bar was through a hatch in the corridor though the lounge had a proper bar. It also had to compete with five cheaper workingmen's clubs all within easy reach.

the honeysuckle was once again completely boarded up as I drove past it this afternoon.

Yes they seem to start early and finish early. The boards were down at 8.00 a.m. this morning and judging by the radiators on the wagon they are stripping out the fixtures and fittings. I was beginning to think, as the wagon has no identifying marks, that they might be a couple of local "entrepreneurs" after the scrap but this chap was there for a couple of hours surveying the place so it looks official:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/100_2289.jpg

As one pub might rise from the ashes (The Honeysuckle) another one bites the dust (the Deckham):

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/deckham.jpg (From Isee Gateshead)

is being demolished. I can only link to this as I don't have permission to reproduce it:

http://moblog.net/view/954049/the-deckham

It has been closed for a long time and planning permission to demolish it and build flats was granted in 2004 but nothing happened. The property was sold on and a further application submitted in 2007 which was refused for lack of parking spaces. I can't find any further application since but the demolition is now complete according to my local spy, my granddaughter.

Why do Eco-houses have to look so ugly?

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/100_2268.jpg

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/100_2267.jpg

These are the ones on Durham Road on the site of the Wishaw House Garage.

DELETED

It's hard to judge from those angles.

They have been shoe horned in a bit...

Devil's advocate...those eco-houses look better than an abandoned petrol station

I went past these yesterday and got a few quick photos as we were driving past. I think these look really good, although you can't see the ground floor yet. Very simple but with great proportions on the facade and the roof line on the front is really clever, with the roof window that cuts down into the facade. I like them.

Either way it's good to see Gateshead pushing for Code 4 houses to be built. More than can be said for Newcastle (from what I've seen) sadly.

Either way it's good to see Gateshead pushing for Code 4 houses to be built. More than can be said for Newcastle (from what I've seen) sadly.

What's Code 4, Anger? Is it an update of Parker Morris or something different?

DELETED

Thanks Micro

Either way it's good to see Gateshead pushing for Code 4 houses to be built. More than can be said for Newcastle (from what I've seen) sadly.

They are not the only ones in Gateshead, nine new bungalows were completed earlier this year to level 4 standards in Millbrook Leam Lane but I can't find a photograph of them anywhere. Now there's a challenge. The only picture I can find is this of the topping out ceremony with the ubiquitous Angela Douglas, Cabinet member for Housing, to the fore:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/Millbrookestatebungalowstoppingout.jpg

Sorry, yes, Microkomputer's right. Code 6 is a house that is totally carbon neutral, producing as much energy as it uses (usually by having solar panels on the roof etc). In most cases going as far as Code 6 is rather pointless as individual sustainable energy systems (like PV cells on your roof or a thundering great wind turbine) are hugely inefficient. It'd be much more economical and just as green to have neighbourhood-wide energy systems, such as a distict-wide combined heat and power plant (CHP) for instance.

However the Labour government decided (in 2008 I think..?) that all new homes need to be Code 6 by 2016, which is like taking aeroplane design and manufacture from the level of the Sopwith Camel to the Eurofighter in about eight years. New houses will be very, very different from your average 1930's semi by then...

Don't get me wrong, I've been over the moon with the drive for environmental standards, but the standards need to be more flexible instead of creating massively expensive near-autonomous homes. District power systems are massively more efficient and therefore sustainable housing can be more affordable. The Tories have already watered-down the standards (by removing all non-heating and lighting energy uses from the calculations), which doesn't make them more flexible, just less green. Idiots.

Aaanyway, Alf's right, I think there are more examples in Gateshead, which is good. There'll be more examples everwhere in a year or so, as the march towards Code 6 is being introduced gradually (you currently have to build at Code 3 or above).

As for space standards, the main one in use currently (outside of London) is the Lifetime Homes Standards, which amongst other things ensures that you can get around your home in a wheelchair. These only have to be used for social or housing association properties. Which bizarrely results in mixed-tenure housing developments where for-sale homes are built and sold by the developer at full whack, in order to part-subsidise affordable socially rented/housing association properties, where the for-sale homes are more cramped than the affordable housing.

Bensham and Saltwell revamp plan unveiled
by Linda Richards, Evening Chronicle, July 13th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/jul2011/8/6/an-artist-s-impression-of-the-bensham-area-which-is-to-be-transformed-689102657.jpg
An artist's impression of the Bensham area which is to be transformed

THIS IS the first glimpse of the plans to transform land at the centre of a bitter legal battle.

Gateshead Council has unveiled outline proposals for new family homes in the Bensham and Saltwell area and said work could start within 12 months.

The first of 19 major new housing developments, to be built by Gateshead Council’s proposed new housing partner Evolution Gateshead, is likely to be on the recently-cleared demolition site on Saltwell Road.

Evolution, a consortium of Home Group and Galliford Try, proposes to build a range of energy-efficient family homes for sale, rent or part-purchase.

The development includes more than 100 three, four and six-bedroom houses, the majority for sale but with about 12 for intermediate ownership and more than 50 for rent.

The council began demolishing Tyneside flats five years ago but was forced to call a halt because of a High Court challenge by SAVE Britain’s Heritage.

It argued a refurbishment scheme should have been carried out rather than demolishing the buildings. The group secured a High Court injunction preventing demolition of the homes, but that was lifted in November.

New boulevards and tree-lined streets could be created with some blocks arranged around Georgian-style squares.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/07/13/bensham-and-saltwell-revamp-plan-unveiled-72703-29044943/#ixzz1RzlsFZC6

I like the look of those homes a lot... However I agree that there may be need to look more closely at whether we need to be demolishing housing to build new stuff, if the existing stock is in decent and refurbishable condition.

I hate to say this but I think for once I agree with Gateshead Council and the houses in question were beyond renovation at an acceptable price. The so called inventors streets off Saltwell Road (Stephenson, Trevethick, Watt and many more) were always a mixed bag and the ones that have been demolished were, with a few exceptions, sadly neglected over the last few years although they were never really "des res". I'm sure the new housing will be a vast improvement.

I do take issue once again with the Chronicle's grasp of geography though. The area is in the Saltwell ward not Bensham, the clue is in "Saltwell Road".

I hate to say this but I think for once I agree with Gateshead Council and the houses in question were beyond renovation at an acceptable price. The so called inventors streets off Saltwell Road (Stephenson, Trevethick, Watt and many more) were always a mixed bag and the ones that have been demolished were, with a few exceptions, sadly neglected over the last few years although they were never really "des res". I'm sure the new housing will be a vast improvement.

I do take issue once again with the Chronicle's grasp of geography though. The area is in the Saltwell ward not Bensham, the clue is in "Saltwell Road".

I was born into the Newcastle West End 'slum' clearances so have seen a lot of this type of development happen. As well the new developments subsequently being knocked down! Looking at the terraced housing I did see a programme about similar terraces in the North West. The house was turned upside down with the living space upstairs, sleeping downstairs. At the back was an elevated walkway with outside terrace area. The back lane was gated. At the front the road was resurfaced and the streetscape tidied. I think you could perhaps go one step further and knock down every other terrace and create proper gardens at the back. The 'footprint' and layout of the area would be retained along with the community spirit. Time will tell whether any lessons learned from the past have been taken on board?

I was born into the Newcastle West End 'slum' clearances so have seen a lot of this type of development happen. As well the new developments subsequently being knocked down! Looking at the terraced housing I did see a programme about similar terraces in the North West. The house was turned upside down with the living space upstairs, sleeping downstairs. At the back was an elevated walkway with outside terrace area. The back lane was gated. At the front the road was resurfaced and the streetscape tidied.

Chimney Pot Park in Salford, developed by Urban Splash.

http://www.urbansplash.co.uk/chimneypotpark/static/images/splash_bg.jpg

Chimney Pot Park in Salford, developed by Urban Splash.

http://www.urbansplash.co.uk/chimneypotpark/static/images/splash_bg.jpg

Thank you AOTN.

I will try to find out how successful the development has been.

Some innovation to retrofit older terraces are being looked at to make them more energy efficient etc. Seems that the default position is to knock areas down and expect private sector to come in to redevelop. Lessons learned tells us that is not always the best policy. Time will tell. But this affects communities greatly.

The house was turned upside down with the living space upstairs, sleeping downstairs.

An interesting concept but there's nothing new under the sun. In the early 1970s my grandparents were given temporary accomodation in St. Cuthbert's Village (shudder) while their council house was being renovated. The entrance hall (passage) led in to the kitchen which in turn led to the next level down which contained the main living area and finally to the lower level where the bedrooms were. My grandmother found it very difficult to get used to the idea of going downstairs to bed.

An interesting concept but there's nothing new under the sun. In the early 1970s my grandparents were given temporary accomodation in St. Cuthbert's Village (shudder) while their council house was being renovated. The entrance hall (passage) led in to the kitchen which in turn led to the next level down which contained the main living area and finally to the lower level where the bedrooms were. My grandmother found it very difficult to get used to the idea of going downstairs to bed.

That is the traditional layout but is more and more being challenged nowadays. The Urban Splash design seems fine for singles/couples but probably not families. The main point was that wholesale clearance is not always the right solution and innovative design using the existing buildings has a place. Local authorities always seem to favour 'clearances' even when the local communities are largely against - no democracy.

That is the traditional layout but is more and more being challenged nowadays. The Urban Splash design seems fine for singles/couples but probably not families. The main point was that wholesale clearance is not always the right solution and innovative design using the existing buildings has a place. Local authorities always seem to favour 'clearances' even when the local communities are largely against - no democracy.

Adrian, I agree with everything you say and I am all for preserving the past especially as I am part of it but I can find no reason whatsover to preserve the likes of Armstrong Street which was a slum when I was a kid in the 50s. Some people have made a serious effort to improve their properties but the majority remained as slums until their demise. I find it hard to keep defending the council's decision on this as I have disagreed with them so much in the past but on this I think they are right. Is this really worth preserving:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/SAM_0938.jpg

I don't know anybody who lived there in recent years but I knew lots of the residents in the 50s and 60s and they all wanted to be out of the place. This is not wholesale clearance but selective clearance, the vast majority of the area is being renovated.

Possibly the most interesting post on this forum ever.

My Auntie used to live on Dunsmuir Grove back in the 80's and the early 90's. I remember coming back to England with my mum and staying with her sometimes. Those flats consisted of a big front bedroom (my aunt never used because of noise from the street, a narrow living room, and back bedroom and an extension with small kitchen and then bathroom on the back. Not particularly nice housing even then. My aunt thought it was getting rougher back then and was glad when she was entitled to a small over 55's flat in Low Fell.

I always thought you combine two flats together into a House, but they would only make a decent two bedroom. I quite like Gateshead scheme of selective refurbishment and some demolition. Certainly on a recent trip a lot of older terraces look a lot more spick and span than I remember them.

It's a good idea to try and create areas attractive to middles class families and stop them fleeing out to Stanley and Burnopfield. Gateshead best chance is ti try and gentrify Shipley and Coatsworth road. God knows Old Durham road, beacon Lough(shudder), Wrekenton and the Leam are not going anywhere. I feel Gatesheads biggest asset is Saltwell Park, I miss a big Victorian Park and down South they are quite rare.

I wish Gateshead had more jobs, for many reasons. But when I visited for the first time in many years, driving through it struck my sister and I how empty the roads were. I mean the A1 and the Felling Bypass was busy, but everything else felt like a Sunday morning, just an occasional car wafting along or a couple of pedestrians. To my eye half of gatesheads streets seemed strangely half empty. We both felt it was quite odd.

Adrian, I agree with everything you say and I am all for preserving the past especially as I am part of it but I can find no reason whatsover to preserve the likes of Armstrong Street which was a slum when I was a kid in the 50s. Some people have made a serious effort to improve their properties but the majority remained as slums until their demise. I find it hard to keep defending the council's decision on this as I have disagreed with them so much in the past but on this I think they are right. Is this really worth preserving:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/SAM_0938.jpg

I don't know anybody who lived there in recent years but I knew lots of the residents in the 50s and 60s and they all wanted to be out of the place. This is not wholesale clearance but selective clearance, the vast majority of the area is being renovated.

Hello Alf,
The street you have featured does look bad but in the West End of Newcastle some properties were offered for £1 with the proviso that people themselves refurbished and renovated the properties and then had to live in them for a set period. I did also see a programme years ago where people were offered properties on this basis and learned building skills as they went along and all helped each other - a sort of self build scheme. These are different ideas and solutions for different areas. Part demolition is one. As long as the locals are part of the decision making then fine.

Regards. A Swall

At the back was an elevated walkway with outside terrace area. The back lane was gated. At the front the road was resurfaced and the streetscape tidied. I think you could perhaps go one step further and knock down every other terrace and create proper gardens at the back. The 'footprint' and layout of the area would be retained along with the community spirit. Time will tell whether any lessons learned from the past have been taken on board?

I used to live in Kelvin Grove and later Rayleigh Grove just a couple of streets along from RP's aunt in Dunsmuir Grove though 20 years earlier and more. The big difference between those streets was that the south side of Kelvin and the north side of Rayleigh were all owned by the same landlord, originally the Co-op. They were, I believe, built for rental to Co-op workers but as the workforce contracted they were let to others like my family. The last I heard they were owned by Newcastle and Whitley Housing Trust and they came up with a novel solution to the back lane problem:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/Gateshead/100_1557.jpg

I would have preferred gardens but it is now as wide as the front street and I quite like it. Of course, it can only happen if somebody owns all of the back to back terraces or the council gets involved. It is certainly an improvement on the dirty back lane that I remember. The Co-op may have had faults as a retailer as mentioned elsewhere but as landlords they were excellent and all the houses were updated in the early 60s with the addition of bathrooms and indoor toilets but I don't think we got central heating at that stage.

Until recently I lived just below Saltwell Park and obv spent most of my teens/early 20's only a few streets from Armstrong Street (upper section, lower part is quite nice) and I have no qualms about it being erased from history. The housing stock was poor, would have cost too much to repair. And the top part had a stigma in the area whilst people were still living there as being full of dealers, thieves and vagrants. Some people I know who lived on the lower part of Armstrong Street hated having to walk through it to get a bottle of milk etc.

No problem Adrian!

For what it's worth, the reason why demolition is so often prefered is because (bizarrely) there is VAT on materials for the renovation of an existing property, but not those for a new-build. Sadly, this usually makes it cheaper to demolish housing and rebuild it than to do a serious renovation. Chimney Pot Park only happened due to a huge grant from the local council if I remember rightly.

There's been pressure on the government to reverse this for a looooong time, but they still resist. How very green of them (the carbon involved in a building is an incredible amount).

Also, renovation is pretty expensive and invasive. If you want to get an old terraced house up to vaguely modern standards you often need to move the family out, rip out everything (including the floors often) back to a shell, before insulating it internally and then rebuilding the floors, electrics, lighting etc... As I say, this is often as expensive as demolition and a newbuild - plus many argue that the new-build will have a longer life expectancy from that point.

My argument, personally, is that if the housing is demolished you should stick to something very close to the same street pattern, if not the exact same one. Cities should evolve, not be smashed up and completely rebuilt in a totally different way unfamiliar to local people. Besides, terraces work!

The problemm is the council obviously wants to attract families and that means in Gateshead back gardens and parking. Now in theory that could easily mean new stone built terraces. I just wonder if that is too much of a leap up for the area. The nicer terraces are near Saltwell park and the Durham road I just wonder how much they can push that Northwards towards Bensham road. Bensham looks much better than it did in the eighties. That hideous council estate is gone and it looks much more built up than it did before. Eventually if the can push towards the town centre from the west and south eventually the town centre won't feel so cut off. Who knows maybe in 20 years time Gateshead town centre will be a functional centre again.

Anyone any idea what this is?

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss274/Jack-claw/Archives/Misc_20110721_197.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss274/Jack-claw/Archives/Misc_20110721_195.jpg

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss274/Jack-claw/Archives/Misc_20110721_196.jpg

Looks like they are putting down the base for a marquee so I would guess it is this:

http://newmediamonthly.co.uk/2011/07/07/summer-net-together-2011/

Looks like the care home near Gateshead interchange was on fire recently/last night. The area is cordoned off by the police. Do we need to add 'mysterious care home fire' (MCHF) to the list of unfortunate/convenient conflagrations?

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/xapbpoh/carehomefire.jpg

A real shame, looks like it was a nice building.

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/3465DerwentTower_pic5.jpg

Any ideas what's happening with Derwent House, AKA the Dunston Rocket? There were plans to demolish the building in 2007 and it appears that residents have been moved out. Is the tower still going to be demolished or is it being refurbished?

Any ideas what's happening with Derwent House, AKA the Dunston Rocket? There were plans to demolish the building in 2007 and it appears that residents have been moved out. Is the tower still going to be demolished or is it being refurbished?

This article from the Newcastle Journal on 13th July 2011 makes mention of its impending demolition - piece is about photographer and author John Grindrod.

http://www.journallive.co.uk/lifestyle-news/newcastle-features/2011/07/13/interview-photographer-and-author-john-grindrod-61634-29041182/

Thanks for the prompt reply steve. It certainly looks like they're gearing up for demolition. The area has been cordoned off, portacabins have appeared and the windows around the lower section (and possibly upper section) look to have been replaced with plastic.

Here's another couple of photos:

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/3465DerwentTower_pic4.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/3465DerwentTower_pic3.jpg

Thanks for the prompt reply steve. It certainly looks like they're gearing up for demolition. The area has been cordoned off, portacabins have appeared and the windows around the lower section (and possibly upper section) look to have been replaced with plastic.


I think there would have been something in the press if this was going to be a 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1, timber job, now that would make for a spectacular set of photographs but perhaps it will be done in the same way as Tyne Bridge Tower, under cover :ohno:

Looks like the care home near Gateshead interchange was on fire recently/last night. The area is cordoned off by the police. Do we need to add 'mysterious care home fire' (MCHF) to the list of unfortunate/convenient conflagrations?

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/xapbpoh/carehomefire.jpg

A real shame, looks like it was a nice building.


^ Is that the old Windmill Hills School?

.

Demolition starts on historic Dunston Rocket
by Joanne Butcher, Evening Chronicle, January 17th 2011

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/nechronical/jan2011/8/9/derwent-tower-in-dunston-also-know-as-the-dunston-rocket-179558196.jpg

It has towered over the Tyneside skyline for decades. Today work started on the demolition of Gateshead's Dunston Rocket.

The 29-storey tower block, designed by architect Owen Luder, is being flattened to make way for low-rise homes, shops and community facilities.

Its fall follows the demolition of Gateshad’s infamous Get Carter Car Park, also designed by Luder and made famous by the 1971 Michael Caine film, which was pulled down last year.

Demolition of the Derwent Tower, and nearby maisonettes, is expected to take around 18 months and is being carried out by Birmingham-based contractor Coleman and Company.

But instead of bringing in workers from their West Midlands home, the company decided to recruit a local workforce.

The hope is the tower’s demolition will bring benefits to the area by providing employment and ensuring much of the funding earmarked for the work will remain in the Tyneside area.

And today, the first of those local gangs began stripping out the interior of the 280ft-high block.

The job, which is expected to take a couple of months, will prepare the site before the bulldozers get started on dismantling the exterior.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/01/17/demolition-starts-on-historic-dunston-rocket-72703-28000447/#ixzz1BIYQfe2W

.


The 4 posts immediately before this one, have been copied here from a discussion currently taking place on the High-rise buildings of Tyneside
thread. The story prior to that (of the demolition plans) has been covered on here.

In one of the copied posts Talisker writes . .

The area has been cordoned off, portacabins have appeared and the windows around the lower section (and possibly upper section) look to have been replaced with plastic.

So, it looks like things are about to happen!!

On the 'Tyne Bridge Tower' Thread, we got a lot of photos of the demolition in progress from a number of people (latterly particularly from GBDT).

Does anyone, with a camera, routinely go anywhere near Derwent House?

Steve, you are right the big bang theory is out the window as Gateshead Council says it will take 18 months to complete the job. Looks like they are going to need another awfully big dust sheet.

^ Is that the old Windmill Hills School?

Yep. Remarkably ablaze though closed because of asbestos. Hmmmm. There's a funny thing.

The lovely Dobson designed church of St. Cuthbert on Bensham Road

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/107_0507-1.jpg

is undergoing renovations and I popped along today to see how it was going. Wait a minute there is something odd on the roof top left, it looks like a dormer window

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/107_0499.jpg

Five of them and round the other side:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/107_0503.jpg

Another five. How did they get away with that on a grade II listed building? I looked at the planning aplication and it seems that Ralph Tarr of Baltic Chambers fame put in the only viable bid to save the church from rotting and falling down. The planning officers were all against the additions but the alternative was unthinkable. It's all being done in the best possible taste but it does look odd to my eye having known the church all my life.

Does anyone know the details of what is actually proposed in the church in the longer term? Having Cotfield Mirrors in there is great (we were actually given one of his mirrors as a wedding present and it is brilliant), but I don't have any idea what is happening with the rest of the building. It seems to have been mostly empty for ages now, and nothing ever seems to happen with it since the dormer windows went in.

Does anyone know the details of what is actually proposed in the church in the longer term? Having Cotfield Mirrors in there is great (we were actually given one of his mirrors as a wedding present and it is brilliant), but I don't have any idea what is happening with the rest of the building. It seems to have been mostly empty for ages now, and nothing ever seems to happen with it since the dormer windows went in.

Found this Planning Application @ http://planning.gateshead.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/dcapplication/application_detailview.aspx?keyval=K310LFHK03P00

DC/08/01041/COU

St Cuthberts Church
Derwentwater Road
Bensham
Gateshead
Tyne And Wear

Conversion of church to museum, workshops and offices with ancillary cartetakers flat including introduction of 10 dormer windows, ten new windows at basement level, the construction of a flat roof across the main roof valley, the rebuilding of the vestry to the rear of the church with a balcony, the creation of a basement floor, the raising of the ground floor and the creation of an upper floor, the change of use of Derwentwater Road from adopted highway to car park and the creation of disabled parking within the churchyard (amended description 18.11.08)

What is this "museum" of which you speak?

What is this "museum" of which you speak?

The Access Statement with the Planning Application makes this comment about the museum :

"The museum aspect of this could be by letting of the lower gallery to artists working in glass."

So perhaps not a museum as we know it and I did expect the Council to get address right. The address of St. Cuthbert's church has always been Bensham Road (or Bensham Bank as it was originally known) not Derwentwater Road.

Gateshead's Odeon to be turned into hotel
by Katie Davies, Evening Chronicle, September 8th 2011

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv345/manorpark_photos/Newcastle%203/GatesheadOdeon-HotelSept2011.jpg

THE ABOVE artist’s impression shows how a new hotel and care home building on Gateshead High Street, is intended to look.

In its heyday it played host to one of Britain’s highest paid film stars, Gracie Fields, but now plans for the site of the former Gateshead’s Odeon Cinema are set to breathe life into a key part of the town’s centre.

And the scheme, which will turn the derelict site into a six-storey hotel with 97 rooms and a five-storey care home with 72 bedrooms, has been given the go-ahead by Gateshead Council.

The developer Gill Properties, based in Tynemouth, also plan to use part of the site for a bar and restaurant, retail unit, a car park and landscaped terrace.

The development coincides with the multi-million pound regeneration plans intended for Gateshead High Street. The long-awaited revamp of the north end of the High Street started with the demolition of Trinity Square shopping centre and the Get Carter car park.


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/09/08/gateshead-s-odeon-to-be-turned-into-hotel-72703-29386339/#ixzz1XNCPwxXH

I can t quite get my head around that rendering. The 1930s brick built building to the north of the hotel [let's return to that in a moment] is there..... but there is an empty amusement arcade at the edge of the cinema site that is in the way if the new development is to abut the brick building. The rendering looks as if the brick building has moved south by the width of the white building.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6201/6127045845_a2fbb8ab67_z.jpg

At least this plan is less madcap than the developer's previous whizzo idea for 'hotel, casino and apartment block'

The cynics amongst us might think that the development is more likely to focus on the care home [going up first I see] than the hotel.......gonna be a lonnnngg time before Gateshead High Street's ready for anything like that.

This isn't a criticism of 'the borough' of Gateshead, but.... applying for city status and the centre of town doesn't even have a McDonalds. I see Mary Portas was doing her regeneration thing on Tuesday - looking at some of the worst high streets in the Country. I must admit I d be hard pressed to think of anywhere worse than Gateshead.

To clarify.... Gateshead has lots of lovely bits, my folks live in one of them. This is just an observation on the core area which is godawful.

The JET amusements building has been demolished and the site is currently empty, Gateshead council bought up many of the derelict shops on the street and they are knocking them down one by one.

The JET amusements building has been demolished and the site is currently empty, Gateshead council bought up many of the derelict shops on the street and they are knocking them down one by one.

Ah cheers for that. The rendering still looks a bit out of proportion but that makes more sense.

The JET amusements building has been demolished and the site is currently empty, Gateshead council bought up many of the derelict shops on the street and they are knocking them down one by one.

I can confirm that fact having had input on the contract of recent months to demolish and grass over the 3 site locations.

One of the site areas (that next to Curleys Public house) was the building that contained the respected Laws Herbal Stores better known as the Sarsparilla Shop

All of the adjacent retained buildings have had structural steel shoring installed to retain the adjacent buildings

For information - the building next to the Jet Amusements block is a lot later than 1930's era

KEN

I can confirm that fact having had input on the contract of recent months to demolish and grass over the 3 site locations.

One of the site areas (that next to Curleys Public house) was the building that contained the respected Laws Herbal Stores better known as the Sarsparilla Shop

All of the adjacent retained buildings have had structural steel shoring installed to retain the adjacent buildings

For information - the building next to the Jet Amusements block is a lot later than 1930's era

KEN



And a further thing, see Gateshead Council Website http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Building%20and%20Development/Regeneration/GatesheadCentre/Pocketparks.aspx

Just what Gateshead High Street needs - pocket parks

KEN

I can confirm that fact having had input on the contract of recent months to demolish and grass over the 3 site locations.

One of the site areas (that next to Curleys Public house) was the building that contained the respected Laws Herbal Stores better known as the Sarsparilla Shop

All of the adjacent retained buildings have had structural steel shoring installed to retain the adjacent buildings

For information - the building next to the Jet Amusements block is a lot later than 1930's era KEN

It makes more sense now. The Herbal store was quite something. As an aside did Curley's have anything to do with the boxer Curley [William I think]

I can confirm that fact having had input on the contract of recent months to demolish and grass over the 3 site locations.

One of the site areas (that next to Curleys Public house) was the building that contained the respected Laws Herbal Stores better known as the Sarsparilla Shop

All of the adjacent retained buildings have had structural steel shoring installed to retain the adjacent buildings

For information - the building next to the Jet Amusements block is a lot later than 1930's era

KEN

Just as a side issue - the mention of Curley's Bar - Former Phoenix and named after the well-known boxer Will Crawley but known as Will Curley who ran the pub for 40 years.

Photographed his grave today in East Gateshead Cemetery - here's a snap:

http://www.fototime.com/C4BDB3F30290992/orig.jpg

Memories of Gateshead High Street, Curley's stayed in the family long after Will's death and it was ironic that it was only after the last Curley had left the pub that the brewery decided to change the name officially.

I remember regularly popping into Laws for a refreshing glass of Sarsparilla with my children and my grandchildren over the years. Billy Laws was a good friend of mine and we often shared an evening in the High Fell Club when he lived across the road. We drank something stronger than his own concoction though. His son took over when Billy died and kept the business going.

As for the proposed juxtaposition of an hotel and and a care home on Gateshead High Street, the mind boggles. I hope the sound insulation in the care home is super strength. Still it will be nice for the old folk, the businessmen and the tourists to mix with the cosmopolitan bunch that frequents the High Street currently. It was a nice touch for the artist to "unboard" the Moon and Sixpence in his illustration, sadly I can't see it ever happening in reality.

I notice the Chronic says the Odeon site is currently "grassed over", it is a wilderness and an eyesore. A note for the Chronic too, Gracie Fields never sang from the roof of the Odeon it was called Black's Regal in those days.

This is the site of the once mighty Odeon back in June:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/SAM_0413-1.jpg

This is a typical sight on the High Street, the woman has just been forcibly ejected from the pub and is too drunk to stand and it is only 1.30 p.m. Later she was seen hurling abuse at one of the barmaids from across the road until the police arrived running from the nearby station. I have often wondered if it was a deliberate decision to site the cop shop so close to the High Street.

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/SAM_1456-1.jpg

Memories of Gateshead High Street, Curley's stayed in the family long after Will's death and it was ironic that it was only after the last Curley had left the pub that the brewery decided to change the name officially.

I remember regularly popping into Laws for a refreshing glass of Sarsparilla with my children and my grandchildren over the years. Billy Laws was a good friend of mine and we often shared an evening in the High Fell Club when he lived across the road. We drank something stronger than his own concoction though. His son took over when Billy died and kept the business going.

As for the proposed juxtaposition of an hotel and and a care home on Gateshead High Street, the mind boggles. I hope the sound insulation in the care home is super strength. Still it will be nice for the old folk, the businessmen and the tourists to mix with the cosmopolitan bunch that frequents the High Street currently. It was a nice touch for the artist to "unboard" the Moon and Sixpence in his illustration, sadly I can't see it ever happening in reality.

I notice the Chronic says the Odeon site is currently "grassed over", it is a wilderness and an eyesore. A note for the Chronic too, Gracie Fields never sang from the roof of the Odeon it was called Black's Regal in those days.

This is a typical sight on the High Street, the woman has just been forcibly ejected from the pub and is too drunk to stand and it is only 1.30 p.m. Later she was seen hurling abuse at one of the barmaids from across the road until the police arrived running from the nearby station. I have often wondered if it was a deliberate decision to site the cop shop so close to the High Street.

Excellent summary Alf. It makes Shields Road look like Darras Hall [though now I think about it there's a nick behind that too]. O Keef's has never struck me as being a typical Irish bar either :)

The level of regeneration required will make the changes on the Quayside look like a lick of paint..

Does anyone know which of the W Curleys was the boxer ? Wonder if there is any significance to father and son shuffling off this coil so close to each other..

Does anyone know which of the W Curleys was the boxer ? Wonder if there is any significance to father and son shuffling off this coil so close to each other..

It would have to be the father on the gravestone as he was fighting around 1899 to 1902 as a Featherweight.

Update: That was from memory of previous researches but I have found the original source of the information:

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=10717&cat=boxer

I had never really noticed the venues in the past but I have tracked down the Standard Theatre here:

http://www.jugglingarchives.com/?p=41

I know it's an odd source but this is the internet. Has anybody heard of the Newcastle venues, Percy Cottage and Ginnetts Circus?

My great grandfather fought him as a flyweight :).

The boxrec site isn t flawless. It refers [for example] to great grandfather's 'claim for World 108lbs was on the line' but doesn t mention him winning it. However it s a good start.

The circus is interesting. Can't help with the where but this might help with the what of Ginnets Circus. Looks like they had a few properties.

http://www.circusginnett.com/#/history/4530823773

NP, that is interesting, so it isn't necessarily a local firm. I also have discovered that it wasn't Percy Cottage but Percy House Boxing Saloon in Newcastle which was a fairly short-lived enterprise but it seems to have been a forerunner of St. James's Hall which was connected to a former boxer and promoter Jimmy Lowes who is also quoted in Google Books as having closed Ginnett's Circus in 1908. I have no interest in boxing but somewhere in my ancestry there lurks a boxer hence my pursuit of the subject.

NP, that is interesting, so it isn't necessarily a local firm. I also have discovered that it wasn't Percy Cottage but Percy House Boxing Saloon in Newcastle which was a fairly short-lived enterprise but it seems to have been a forerunner of St. James's Hall which was connected to a former boxer and promoter Jimmy Lowes who is also quoted in Google Books as having closed Ginnett's Circus in 1908. I have no interest in boxing but somewhere in my ancestry there lurks a boxer hence my pursuit of the subject.

Percy House is now at the corner of Leazes Park Rd and Percy Street. the large building with the Greggs and the Barclays Bank - I assume that this is on the approximate site.

I think that St James hall was close to this, roughly in the car park by St James Metro. Tim Pickford-Jones suggests the brick built one was the second St James Hall - rebuilt in 1929.

http://home.freeuk.net/timarchive2/html/leazes.htm

I think that St James hall was close to this, roughly in the car park by St James Metro. Tim Pickford-Jones suggests the brick built one was the second St James Hall - rebuilt in 1929.


St James' Hall was on Strawberry Place, right opposite the Gallowgate End at St James' Park.

The New St James's Hall opened for boxing on1th May 1930, built on the site of the old hall which had been an engineering works, converted into a boxing 'stadium' by a group of local businessmen and the now retired Will Curley. (Curley's name turns up again)

The new hall could accommodate some 4,000 spectators, with a few hundred more standing at the back and sides!

Within a year of the 1930 having been built there was also wrestling being promoted.

The hall was eventually purchased by the Essoldo Group and turned into a Bingo only venue with the final boxing match taking place on 22nd May 1967 and wresting on 27th January 1968.

Finally in the summer of 1976 the building was demolished.

(Source : Headlocks and Handbags - Wrestling at New St James's Hall by Archie Potts)

This is a photograph of the Hall taken in 1965 - purchased from Newcastle City Libraries when they were selling off duplicates at Tynemouth Book Fair a few years ago.

http://www.fototime.com/BF124E740D3E274/orig.jpg

The 4 posts immediately before this one, have been copied here from a discussion currently taking place on the High-rise buildings of Tyneside
thread. The story prior to that (of the demolition plans) has been covered on here.

In one of the copied posts Talisker writes . .



So, it looks like things are about to happen!!

On the 'Tyne Bridge Tower' Thread, we got a lot of photos of the demolition in progress from a number of people (latterly particularly from GBDT).

Does anyone, with a camera, routinely go anywhere near Derwent House?

Update for demolition of DERWENT TOWER & associated adjacent flats etc, Ravensworth Road Estate, Dunston

See Coleman & Co http://www.coleman-co.com/projects/24.html (http://www.coleman-co.com/projects/24.html) for description and status of project as at 09/09/11

For information the block containing electricity sub station (Tower Court) also has operational shops and supermarket unit - these having been left for community use until the "proposed new development" is carried out

Once the tower crane and external scaffold are in place the "deconstruction" of Derwent Tower will take place

For those of you who remember the demolition of the Gateshead “Get Carter” Car Park (see http://vimeo.com/14643335 (http://vimeo.com/14643335)) just think of Coleman utilising their High Reach machine with a reach approx 2.5 times higher on this project

KEN

I was walking through Gateshead this morning with my granddaughter when she told me that a Wetherspoons was to open in the town centre and at my look of disbelief she took me round to Jackson Street and showed me:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/107_0728.jpg

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/107_0726.jpg

According to the Wetherspoon site it is be called the Tilley Stone:

http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/the-tilley-stone

I'm lost for words.

Good. They'll look after the old Co-op building.

I was walking through Gateshead this morning with my granddaughter when she told me that a Wetherspoons was to open in the town centre and at my look of disbelief she took me round to Jackson Street and showed me:

According to the Wetherspoon site it is be called the Tilley Stone:

I'm lost for words.

Anyone know the background to the name - is it connected with the Tilley coal seam, or is it something to do with the windmill that sat on the corner of Jackson Street (mill stone) ?

I can confirm that fact having had input on the contract of recent months to demolish and grass over the 3 site locations.


KEN

Ken, a fine job it is too, if I find a need for something to be grassed over, like the Civic Centre, I will get in touch. I don't suppose the contract includes maintenance otherwise it will end up like the Odeon site.

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/107_0722.jpg

For information - the building next to the Jet Amusements block is a lot later than 1930's era

KEN

Yes, Ken, I would hazard a guess that it was late 50s to early 60s when the slums of Grahamsley Street were demolished and that building was erected with the local Magistrates and County Court occupying the upper floors. I can't remember what occupied the ground floor retail area at the time but it is now taken up by a cafe and various small units inhabited by refugees from the Gateshead Indoor Market.

I was walking through Gateshead this morning with my granddaughter when she told me that a Wetherspoons was to open in the town centre and at my look of disbelief she took me round to Jackson Street and showed me:

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/107_0728.jpg

http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq226/anthonywd/skyscraper/107_0726.jpg

According to the Wetherspoon site it is be called the Tilley Stone:

http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/the-tilley-stone

I'm lost for words.

This may be the one and only Wetherspoons I will not dare venture into.

This may be the one and only Wetherspoons I will not dare venture into.

The doormen will have to be.......robust. Actually no, they'll have to pay them Iraq mercenary money to do that job.

The doormen will have to be.......robust. Actually no, they'll have to pay them Iraq mercenary money to do that job.

I wonder how many tourists with kids may inadvertently go in there! :nuts: