Felling Town Centre Re-development | Gateshead | Various | Approved

[deathoftomorrow]

Originally Posted by liquidlou

Felling shopping Centre, including the existing Co-op, is to be demolished after March, to make way for a larger Asda and 9 retail units (not 100% about details). Plans are said to be on show in the old Harlan Radio shop.

Quite surprised there isn't anymore information on here regarding this since this sounds like quite a big development for Felling.

I guess the new supermarket in Felling puts an end to the rumours of a Morrisons to be built on the old Felling Baths site in Fewster Square

[deathoftomorrow]

UPDATE . . .

Well we were allowed to view the plans at the old Harlan Radio shop last year where we were informed that March was when they planned to empty units.

We then received a letter informing us Felling council offices closure by the end of March 2012 which I have managed to find this link to:-

http://www.gatesheadhousing.co.uk/do..._Office_1_.pdf

and the rumour going around is that ASDA is to be the supermarket that we are getting and the co-op from Felling square is moving to the ASDA in the Old Fold to compensate.

I have also found a link to the public consultation http://www.gatesheadhousing.co.uk/si...php?newsID=960

And a link to Reeves & Co which has images and proposed plans
http://reevesandco.com/property-sear...jects/felling/

Hope that's enough information to update the thread.

NB - I will be happy to supply photographs during it's development.

.

[Ken O'Heed]

The following text from Gateshead Housing Company 14/10/11 (with slight amendment regarding “future/past use” eg will/were ) :-

Felling town centre is set to receive a new supermarket, retail units and improvements to public spaces.

This follows a major new agreement between Gateshead Council and developers The Felling Syndicate represented by Helmsley Securities Ltd.

A brand new food supermarket at the junction of Crowhall Lane and Booth Street in the centre of Felling is the lynchpin of a scheme that will transform the area.

As well as the new supermarket the scheme will provide replacement car parking to serve Felling centre, six new retail units and a remodelled Victoria Square.

Land owners Gateshead Council have reached agreement to grant a long term lease to the developers, The Felling Syndicate, who will be represented by York based Helmsley Securities Ltd, to enable the development to take place.

Negotiations are already underway with a high profile national retailer to operate the supermarket.

An open public consultation event took place in Felling on October 19 at the former 'Harlan Radio' store in Felling Shopping Parade on Crowhall Lane.

All local residents were invited to talk to the developers and find out more about the proposed scheme.

The consultation will be followed by a planning application, which is expected to be lodged before the end of the year.

The Gateshead Housing Company will also be at these events to talk to customers about future access to housing services.

In order to redevelop the area, the existing offices used by Gateshead Council and the Gateshead Housing Company will need to close.

There are plans to provide a multi-service building in what is now the Felling Sure Start Centre.

In time, this building will provide a variety of services for the Felling area including services provided by The Gateshead Housing Company, who will be talking to residents over the next few months about their services.

Part of the agreement Gateshead Council has reached with the developers is that training and recruitment opportunities will be targeted at local people during the construction and operation of the new supermarket and shops.

Leader of Gateshead, Mick Henry, said: "Felling Town Centre is an area where we have been working hard to attract new investment and a new supermarket for quite some time.

"Reaching this agreement is a major step towards a more prosperous future for Felling as a local centre; securing a supermarket development will have a big impact on the number of people shopping in the area and, hopefully, reduce the number of empty shops in Felling High Street."

Local people will have the opportunity to discuss the plans with developers before a final planning application is submitted later this year.

It is expected that work will start on site as early as next year.

John Reeves, representing the developers, said: "This scheme will provide the impetus to regenerate the area, even in these tough times.

"The developers will use their powers to ensure work is provided to local people, throughout both the construction and the operational phases, as we know times are tough for everyone and a scheme such as this will provide local opportunities for local people.

"We look forward to this progressing very quickly."

John added: "We understand that the existing shopping parade is an important retail hub for the Felling community.

"The development plans proposed mean a phasing of the development, allowing the majority of the existing parade to remain until the new one is complete."

The following text from Reeves & Co http://reevesandco.com/property-search/specific-projects/felling/ on 26/10/11


Felling Town Centre

Reeves & Co. are acting on behalf of The Helmsley Group and The Felling Syndicate to aid with proposed plans that will see a transformation of Felling Town Centre. This page has been set up to provide interested parties with a platform to view the proposals and to make comments on the development. Additionally updates will be provided by the developer in the ‘comments’ section at the bottom of this page

SUMMARY

The proposals will see total demolition of the existing Felling Shopping Centre to make was for a new Supermarket and a brand new parade of retail units. The scheme will be built in two stages with the new parade being constructed while the current one remains in situ until such a time as the tenants can be relocated across to the new scheme.

The proposals will see an increased footfall to Felling Town Centre and are expected to be the first step in a major scheme of regeneration for the area which has suffered from a lack of investment over recent years. Reeves and Co. are assisting in relocating the tenants from the existing parade into the newly proposed scheme as well as dealing with enquiries from other potential tenants.

ANTICIPATED TIMING

Planning application – Mid November 2011
Planning approval – February 2012
Start on site – November 2012
Completion – November 2013

DESIGN PROSAL

The proposals will see the scheme facing towards Victoria Square (The main Town Square), this proposals will include a scope of re-modelling of Victoria Square to make it more visually and practically appealing. The orientation of the scheme and the car parking will encourage customers towards Felling High Street and provide the catalyst for regeneration

INDICATIVE PLANS

Plan – As existing
Elevations – As existing
Plan – As proposed
Elevations – As proposed

Below is copy of "Proposed Plan"from the above as prepared by TS Architects




Found out that Planning Application on Gateshead Council portal was only made on Friday 20 January 2012 (found by use "Crowhall" not names of other roads) suggesting that timetables noted above may be slipping

Reference DC/12/00080/FUL http://public.gateshead.gov.uk/onlin...=LY3V8MHK3Y000

Documents http://cominoweb.gateshead.gov.uk/Pl...C/12/00080/FUL

KEN

NH create new thread for this project? - also not sure if has been previous postings on this topic

[Newcastle Historian]

New Project Thread set up, as requested.

Poster deathoftomorrow has undertaken to post 'progress photos' from this development.

[NewcastleStu]

OT but what is Felling like as an area to live? I'm disturbed by the crime stats on the Police website.

[alf stone]

Felling is like almost anywhere else it has good bits and bad bits. When my son-in-law died tragically young my daughter felt she could no longer live in the house they had shared and the Council rehoused her in Felling. After a short while she decided to move out and buy a property elsewhere not because of the crime figures but because it was too quiet. Don't be taken in by the propaganda.

[deathoftomorrow]

Originally Posted by NewcastleStu

OT but what is Felling like as an area to live? I'm disturbed by the crime stats on the Police website.

Like anywhere it has it's rough areas like the Old Fold/Nest Estate and Stoneygate but then it has some really nice sought after areas.

[geordiejon]

Sought after areas in felling? Are you having a laugh? As a Gateshead boy- brought up in whickham and then bought a house in low fell- felling is the arm pit of gateshead- and that is grim considering gateshead isn't exactly viewed as salubrious!

[Ken O'Heed]

Following up above comments, see appended document from Gateshead Council website for information on "Felling Ward" (INCLUDING MAP)

http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Document...elling2012.pdf

KEN

[Adrian_Swall]

Interesting stats there.

One third of Gateshead adults are binge drinkers.

How do they know?

[alf stone]

Originally Posted by Adrian_Swall

Interesting stats there.

One third of Gateshead adults are binge drinkers.

How do they know?

With the definition of binge drinking from Drinkaware as:

Binge drinking for men, therefore, is drinking more than 8 units of alcohol – or about three pints of strong beer. For women, it’s drinking more than 6 units of alcohol, equivalent to two large glasses of wine.

I am surprised it was so low. As to how they know it all comes from the 2008 South of Tyne and Wear Lifestyle Survey where a team rang 3000 residents of Gateshead and asked them about their drinking (and other) habits and presumably believed everything they were told. I wasn't one of the 3000 but I have read the questionnaire and I would have told them anything to get rid of them.

[sirfreelancealot]

One thing that has struck me about this development proposal is why a new supermarket is being developed here when there is the possibility of an operator to occupy the former Kwik Save which has been sitting empty for a good while?

Given the state of Felling High Street, with many shuttered-up shop fronts, would it have been better to put a focus on reviving this street which has much potential to provide an attrcative offer of local shops and accommodation for small businesses, reinforced perhaps with reusing Kwik Save to provide an anchor store.

The biggest problem is that over the years development has turned the focal point of Felling from an original north-south High Street axis to a east-west axis. Should there not be an effort to reverse this?

[deathoftomorrow]

Thought i'd add some pictures to show what Felling square currently looks like.

Pictures of the buildings to be demolished during re-development:-







And the back of the buildings which is to be the main entrance to the new development:-


Please excuse the pictures and there size they were taken on my iPhone during a busy lunch hour.

Hosted on Photobucket.

[deathoftomorrow]

And photographs of the proposed plans that are displayed in the council office.











I hope this gives an idea of the development and once again please excuse the pictures and the size.

Hosted on Photobucket.

[Newcastle Historian]

Felling Town Centre revamp gets green light
by Tony Henderson, Evening Chronicle, April 5th 2012


An artists' impression of the remodeled Victoria Square in Felling

THIS is how a new Town Centre will look after a long-awaited revamp. New life will be breathed into Felling Town Centre after plans for a new shopping precinct were given the go-ahead. The development will see a new supermarket, shops and improvements to public spaces after planning permission was granted for the £10m scheme by Gateshead councillors. The supermarket at the junction of Crowhall Lane and Booth Street in the centre of Felling will be the biggest part of a scheme to transform the area.

Plans provide replacement car parking to serve Felling centre, six new shop units and a remodeled Victoria Square. Planners said: “The proposals will see an increased footfall to Felling Town Centre and are expected to be the first step in a major scheme of regeneration for the area which has suffered from a lack of investment over recent years and negotiations are now nearing completion for a national retailer to operate the supermarket."

As part of the redevelopment, some existing public facilities are also set to be relocated to a multi-service building in what is now Felling Sure Start Centre on Felling High Street. A variety of Gateshead Council and The Gateshead Housing Company services will be based in the building.

John Reeves, representing the developers, said: “We will now be working hard with local people and planners to ensure the final details are ironed out over the coming months ready for construction to start early next year. I’m aware of just how much anticipation there is locally for this scheme. It will provide the impetus to regenerate the area, even in these tough times, it will be a major jobs boost for the area and bring shoppers back into Felling.”


Read More - http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north...#ixzz1rBnUYdBq

[Newcastle Historian]

Re - Thread Title suffix amended to "Approved".

[bigchrisfgb]

So is their any names for the rumoured supermarket floating about?

[deathoftomorrow]

Originally Posted by bigchrisfgb

So is their any names for the rumoured supermarket floating about?

From what's going around it is meant to be ASDA

[liquidlou]

Yeah, I heard ASDA as well, with the Co-op eventually relocating to ADSA's current Old Fold site.

[Ken O'Heed]

Following some of the comments made above regarding closed, shuttered and boarded up shop units etc on Felling High Street here are a few photographs taken by myself on Tuesday 25/04/12 approx 0915 - 1000 (hosted on Photobucket) showing the said properties and others in the immediate vicinity of the new shopping development - covered in posts above

This image being a copy of "Google StreetView"




My Photographs

Looking up the High Street from junction near Sunderland Rd























Looking down the High Strret










Leading off Part way up the High Street



Holly Hill leading east from near top High Street





Opposite side of Split Crow Road




Some detailed pictures of properties showing not all are "Retail"





This one with Gateshead Council "door and window" decoration treatment



Completed in recent years Surestart Building





Do not think the "Mary Portas action plan" will be of any use here and once the new development is completed it is possible that the few independant traders may be under even more pressure from the supermarket

KEN