[johnnypd]

Thought this might be a decent idea for a thread; a discussion of affordable housing of all types - council flats, affordable housing, housing association, trust accomodation and so on - that exist on Tyneside, and the past, present and future of such developments.

I'll start off with a couple of pics from the Council's archives:

Sutton's Dwellings, Benwell. William Sutton founded the first firm of independent parcel couriers in Britain, breaking the railway's monopoly. Despite showing no philanthropic inclinations during his life, he bequeathed almost all of his considerable wealth into housing trusts for the poor in 1900. The Sutton Model Dwellings Trust quickly grew into the largest housing trust in Britain, building in places like London, Newcastle, South Shields, Liverpool:

Sutton's Dwellings, Barrack Road:

An Artist's Impression of Kenton Bar housing scheme, 1966 :nuts: :

The real thing, 1971:

Kenton Bar Pyramid. from Wikipedia - The estate had one famous landmark called the Kenton Bar Pyramid or "pyrry." It was a concrete pyramid with a water feature based in the local shopping centre. Few ever saw the feature working as it was poorly designed and eventually the local authority gave up. It was possible to climb the pyramid by rubbing tar onto the soles of trainers and other shoes. This was a favourite pursuit in the early 80's as tar was readily available as the local authority looked to patch up the flat and often leaking roof tops on the estate.:

 

[North Star]

.
Some photos of St Cuthbert's Village, Gateshead here:

http://isee.gateshead.gov.uk/info.php?s=st+cuthberts+village&type=all&t=objects

I always thought that St Cuthberts Village was one of the more dramatic estates on Tyneside!

.

 

[AngerOfTheNorth]

Dramatic's definately a word for it Wilf! I must admit I never went to that estate so can't comment on the build quality or space standards of the dwellings, but there's not much from the photographs that makes me think that we should have kept those blocks... Apart from the fact that (if I'm right) the site was then used to build that hideous Persimmon estate (Windmill Hill?)!

 

[Newcastle Historian]

Hundreds of new council homes to be built
Jan 12 2010 by Alastair Craig, Evening Chronicle


WAITING list misery for families will be tackled with a further 200 council homes across the North East.

The government today doubled cash for new properties with a further £10.5m grant to council building programmes.

Housing Minister John Healey announced 73 councils will share an extra £122.6m.

Local authorities in Newcastle, Gateshead, County Durham, Northumberland and South Tyneside have all won a slice of the national pot.

The cash grants are:

:: Gateshead Council will get over £1.1m to build 19 homes on five sites;

:: Newcastle receives £567,000 to build 11 bungalows in Brunswick Village;

:: Northumberland County Council has won £1.3m for 20 homes at the Newsham First School site and Nordale Way in Blyth;

:: South Tyneside Council gets £1.1m for 25 homes in Belsfield Gardens, Jarrow, and Druridge Crescent in Horsley Hill;

:: Durham County Council receive £3.5m to build 67 homes; 17 family houses at Crook and 50 new flats and bungalows for older folk.

This means the total funding received by councils in the North East in the first and second waves of the scheme now stands at £22m for 425 homes.

Mr Healey confirmed many will be new houses for families.

The Government also said all councils should offer apprenticeship and local job recruitment schemes, creating 7,500 jobs and around 100 new apprenticeships across the country.

Coun Angela Armstrong, head of housing at Gateshead Council, said: “This announcement is welcome news for Gateshead. The extra funding will allow us to provide a further 19 much-needed homes for older or disabled people.

“Local councils like us have struggled for many years to match people’s housing needs with the ever-reducing supply of social housing, especially for older people who have very specific housing requirements.

“The 80 new homes we have been given permission to build will help to fill a real gap in our housing provision and there will be no shortage of people wanting to take tenancies. They will also be amongst the most modern and energy-efficient homes in the borough.”

Mr Healey said: “Seven councils in the North East have shown they are ready and willing to build new homes, so I’m ready to back them.

“This year’s Government spending for affordable housing will be the largest for at least two decades.

“More affordable homes for rent are needed in the North East and every part of the country. We’re using the power of public investment to help economic growth by building the homes we need and creating jobs and skills for the future.”

Pat Ritchie, regional director of the Homes and Communities Agency in the North East, said: “This is a welcome boost for local authorities across the region, helping them to meet the housing needs of local people.

“Almost 200 new homes will be built thanks to this funding, providing new, quality homes throughout the North East, from vibrant urban communities to sustainable rural villages, offering local people an opportunity to live in a place they want, and can afford to do so. The response to our Local Authority New Build Programme has been tremendous and is a positive step for the future.”

 

[AngerOfTheNorth]

Good news, but I can't see 11 new bungalows touching the sides in regards to the council housing waiting lists. Still, if that's all the cash on offer, that's all there is.

 

[johnnypd]

it is a very paltry offering, 19 new homes for gateshead borough!

 

[AngerOfTheNorth]

As far as I'm aware these are additional council houses on top of those that a number of councils are already creating by selling off sites to developers in exchange for a number of the homes that they build, but as you say Johnny, it's not much is it?

Still, better than nothing I guess.

 

[bigchrisfgb]

Looks like North Tyneside are missing out. I would of thought they could of built a few decent local authroity or affordable housing on the site of the old Monkseaton High School once demolition is complete.

 

[North Star]

North Tyneside: Conservative elected Mayor, Conservative majority on the council. No great surprise that they didn't put in for new council house funding, really.

One other point about this generally (and I work in and around this field so I know a little bit about it) - most councils have spent the last 30 years getting rid of the majority of thir housing (whether willingly or reluctantly), and they therefore don't have the staff and systems in place to build/manage new stock anymore. So, with the relatively small amounts of cash available and the relatively small amounts of homes that could be built with it, many authorities have decided that it just isn't worth the hassle of going for this funding.

 

[BettySwanson]

This image of Tyneside I think is dated around 1970-71. It's a gem for me as it shows St. Cuthbert's Village being developed.

 

[johnnypd]

wow amazing picture. welcome to the forum betty.

 

[Geordie Ahmed]

Wow - thats an amazing picture betty - i need to connect it to my TV to really appreciate it because its big

 

[North Star]

Yes, it's a gem.

Interesting (for me, anyway) also to see the site of St Ann's Close flats (Crawhall Road/Breamish Street, Battlefield) before they were built - my grandparents moved in when they were brand new in the 70s.

It looks like clearance of the old houses along Breamish Street is well underway in the photo (behind St Ann's Church) - also interesting to see the old Dunford fire extinguisher factory (now the site of the Premier TravelInn on City Road).

I could spend hours poring over that photo...

 

[AngerOfTheNorth]

Welcome to the forum Betty (and Northern Star)!

Great photo...

 

[Newcastle Historian]

Betty, that is one of the best aerial photos that I have EVER seen!!




.

 

[elliott]

Even though we lament the loss of some great buildings, the area is much more livable compared to Betty's photo, with the possible exception of the Central Motorway.

 

[Newcastle Historian]

Social Housing in Newcastle in the 20th Century.
Some extracts from 'Water Under the Bridges', from Tyne Bridge Publishing, in 1999 . .


These extracts (and PHOTOS) cover the early part of the 20th Century, including the building of Pendower and High Heaton Estates. Then, in the 1940's, the arrival of the "Pre-Fab", and up through all the flat and masonette building of the 50s and 60s into the change of emphasis towards preservation of older properties, in the 1970s. Post-1970s until the end of the century, it largely seemed to change to 'private sector' construction, under Maggie and the Tories . . .

 

[Newcastle Historian]

North East councils get £8m housing boost
Feb 23 2010 by Adam Jupp, Evening Chronicle


THE region was today given an £8m housing boost.

Councils across the North East will receive a share of the cash, which was announced by housing minister John Healey.

It will be used to build nearly 180 affordable houses as part of a national £500m programme of spending.

Among the projects the money will fund is a revamp of the former Fossway fire station, in Newcastle’s East End, where homes for people with learning disabilities will be built.

The council to get the most cash is South Tyneside, which has been awarded more than £2m to be spent on the fourth phase of a regeneration scheme in Cleadon Park.

Mr Healey said: “Unlike Governments in previous recessions, we have used the power of public investment to ensure that even during the downturn we continued to build the homes this country needs.

“When levels of private house-building plummeted, we stepped in with record levels of funding to get Britain building again.

“So today I can confirm I have given the go-ahead to nearly £500m extra funding for housing associations to build 8,000 new homes. But I want to make the most of every taxpayer’s pound, which is why I am requiring those benefiting from this extra cash to offer local job and apprenticeship opportunities.

“Today’s investment in more affordable housing takes total Government help for housebuilding to £3.3 billion since June.

“As the economy continues its recovery, I am determined that this support continues for the industry, for first-time buyers and for families.”

Of the properties to be built in the region, 106 will be low-cost for people to buy, while 73 will be homes for social rent.

Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) will receive more than £1.6m, of which £1.3m will be spent on the Fossway fire station development.

That will see 17 properties created for people with learning difficulties. As the development is on the site of Hadrian’s Wall, it will incorporate a cobbled section to mark the line it followed.

North Tyneside Council is getting £459,000, while Northumberland County Council will receive more than £1.7m. Durham County Council is set to pocket more than £880,000, while Sunderland City Council is netting £274,000.

 

[snadowitz]

Hi All - just found this board via Google search in my ongoing search for photos of the pyramid on Kenton Bar Estate. Did you know there is a blog dedicated to Kenton Bar Estate and it has 6 - yes SIX - pictures of the pyramid? It also has some other photos of the estate and a lot of memories from the authors and comments from others. Worth a look.

http://kentonbar.blogspot.com

 

[Newcastle Historian]

Residents get a say on Blakelaw new housing plans
Apr 13 2010 by Amy Hunt, Evening Chronicle

An artists impression of the new homes that will replace the flats.

THESE homes look set to rise from the rubble of an eyesore block of flats as part of plans to ease a shortage of houses.

The deck access flats in Blakelaw were built as part of a vision to recreate the community spirit of the terraced homes they replaced.

But they proved unpopular and 40 years after the flats on stilts were constructed, demolition began.

Now residents around the Newcastle suburb have been asked for their views on the future of the area.

Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) and developer Keepmoat Homes asked people what they thought should spring up in place of the decked flats, on Moulton Place and Colwyne Place.

Building new homes is part of YHN and Newcastle City Council’s aim to regenerate the city.

Over the last decade hundreds of houses in areas like Scotswood and Walker have been pulled down.

Work is progressing on plans to build 1,800 homes in Scotswood, with the recent announcement of cash for the scheme.

But a report to Newcastle City Council’s quality places scrutiny panel shows the rate of demolition in the city is slowing down.

Over the last year 391 properties, including those at Blakelaw, have been demolished. A further 199 in Newbiggin Hall and Walker are earmarked for demolition as part of plans to regenerate the areas.

Coun Bill Shepherd, executive member for regeneration and housing, said: “We’re clearly on the upward curve in terms of developing new housing. We have gone through the most difficult recession the country’s seen and come through it strongly.

“There is a continued need for affordable housing in the city. We welcome people who want to come and live in Newcastle and they need somewhere attractive to live.”

In the Blakelaw deck access flats there were 140 two-bedroom flats. About 90 family homes are proposed as part of the scheme.

A community fruit garden and courtyards providing outdoor space are also part of the plans.

Ian Prescott, of Keepmoat Homes, said: “This is a scheme that will provide much-needed low-cost homes for local people and at the same time dramatically enhance the appearance of the central part of Blakelaw.

“We were delighted so many people attended the recent consultation event and gave their comments on our sketch proposals. We look forward to meeting them again in May when we hope to show how we have responded to their queries.”

John Lee, chief executive of YHN, said: “Your Homes Newcastle is working in partnership with Keepmoat Homes to provide a high quality residential development that will enhance the local character of the area while creating a safe and inviting community environment in which to live.”

Built in 1969 and designed by the council architect Doug H Cunningham, the deck access flats, standing on stilts above the ground with connecting walkways, were part of a grand plan to create communities. But this never worked and the blocks gradually fell into disrepair.

In 2007 it was estimated the cost of improving the flats to modern homes standards would be £2.3m, whereas demolition would cost £1m, and they were earmarked to be pulled down.

But bosses at Your Homes Newcastle found rehousing the tenants in the blocks to be a slow process due to the lack of other empty council properties in the city. The final resident was re-housed in May last year.