Riverside renaissance plans gather pace
South Shields Riverside Works Set To Start (7 May 2008)
South Tyneside Council is moving ahead with ambitious and exciting plans for a riverside renaissance which will create thousands of jobs and attract millions of pounds worth of investment to the Borough.
The Council has just adopted its Strategic Development Framework (masterplan) for the transformation of South Shields riverside.
It sets out an exciting vision for the redevelopment of South Shields riverside, featuring high quality housing, commercial premises and open space in a fantastic waterfront setting.
A team of experts appointed by the Council and One NorthEast, and led by internationally renowned urban design and architecture firm, Studio Egret West, has drawn up the plans. And they are the result of months of consultation with local people, councillors, businesses and potential developers.
Councillor Eddie McAtominey, Lead Member Jobs, Enterprise and Regeneration, said: “This is a scheme of massive importance to the regeneration of South Shields and the Borough as a whole, and I’m delighted to say that the vision outlined in this masterplan builds on the local heritage of the former industrial landscape whilst setting proposals for a bright new future.
“We have consulted widely, listening to our communities, Council members, and organisations like the Rekendyke Partnership, who have all helped to shape this document. We held an event at the Customs House, where we invited local people to express their views on how the site should be developed using a variety of creative methods from model building to painting. We even offered them a free double decker bus trip around the regeneration area.”
The masterplan has the potential to create around 3,400 jobs, as well as an estimated 400 new enterprises and over 2,000 training places.
“The masterplan is employment led,” said Councillor McAtominey. “We have a once in a lifetime chance to create something that will have a tremendous economic impact on the area. This sets the framework to attract the investment needed to regenerate the site, and clearance works are already under way. We have already had considerable interest from potential investors and developers.
“These ambitious plans have received widespread support and we are keen to capitalise on the momentum we have built up.”
The plans propose the creation of five new neighbourhoods, together providing more than 1,300 new homes. They include the redevelopment of the former Circatex site and the southern end of Frederick Street to establish a new zero carbon neighbourhood providing family housing.
A superb new waterfront park – “new shore” – will give everybody access to the riverside, providing a variety of public spaces with cafes, restaurants and even a nature reserve. It will also have the flexibility to accommodate a rich mix of entrepreneurial ideas, from ice cream kiosks and houseboat building to artist studios and marine technology.
As part of the waterfront park, a community terrace will reunite the community of Rekendyke and South Shields town centre. It will be constructed using recycled materials and engineered fill from other major projects in the region, making “new shore” the country’s first 100 per cent recycled park.
Councillor McAtominey said: “Consultation revealed a real desire to ensure access to the riverside and maintain river views. The waterfront park, which will connect the riverside from Harton Staithes to McNulty’s yard, should satisfy this desire.
“It will provide opportunities to wander in a variety of public spaces along the riverside, enjoy a coffee or snack in one of the new cafes, bars and restaurants and enjoy views of the ever-changing river activities whatever the weather.“
Margaret Fay, Chairman of One NorthEast, added: “This project will contribute not only to the regeneration of South Tyneside, but also to the renaissance of the Tyne Corridor. The plans link the creation of a distinctive, high quality new waterfront area with the renewal of local neighbourhoods and with initiatives to help local people to access training and employment opportunities. The vision will offer people a good quality of life with attractive places to live and play, close to where they work.
“And as I was born and bred in the Rekendyke area, I am proud and excited about the plans which are being developed. I am looking forward to seeing this fantastic vision being brought to fruition.”
Studio Egret West has been supported by development and architectural planners, AZ Urban Studio, RPS Planning, economic advisers, Davis Langdon and independent “think and do tank”, the New Economics Foundation.
Urban designer David West, of Studio Egret West, said: “Twenty years of rediscovering industrial waterfronts in the UK has for the most part led to privatised enclaves. This strategy seeks a more sustainable, longer term view that balances the desire for an employment creating, entrepreneurial waterfront with the ambitions of a growing residential community.”