Ouseburn Byker Sites

Central Ouseburn
The Ouseburn Central site sits at the hub of the Lower Ouseburn Valley. It occupies a key position at the confluence of many routes in, out and through the area. Bounded by the Ouseburn Farm and green space to the North and Cut Bank/Byker Bank, one of the main routes from the east end to the Quayside to the South, the Ouseburn Central area has been subject to increased development pressures, and therefore the Ouseburn Central Draft Masterplan has been prepared to guide future development. This Masterplan proposes a site layout and mix of uses, together with a set of design principles, which should ensure that the Council’s vision of a sustainable urban village is realised. the Masterplan was adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document in January 2008.

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Lower Steenbergs Yard
This key riverside site is owned by the City Council and covers approximately 0.8 hectares. This is an important entrance into the Lower Ouseburn Valley and presents an exciting opportunity to create a mixed use development. Interesting existing features include the former Maynards Toffee Factory Chimney and entrance to the Victoria Tunnel. It was also the site of the listed Cattle Sanatorium which was carefully dismantled some years ago. The Council has marketed the site, and is currently in negotiation with two potential development partners. Once a final selection has been made in early 2008 an exciting redevelopment scheme will be brought forward.

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Byker Buildings
The site of the now demolished Byker Buildings is owned by the City Council and covers approximately 0.28 hectares. The site is prominently situated at the top of Byker Bank, providing a vantage viewpoint across the Ouseburn Valley and the River Tyne beyond. It is visible from the Quayside, from Gateshead and from several major routes into the city centre and the east end of Newcastle. The site lies is close to the Ouseburn Conservation Area, to the south. The site previously contained unpopular deck access flats but the Council wants to see redevelopment in the form of highly energy efficient family houses. An approved Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) has been prepared to guide the re-development of the site and agreement has been reached in principle to sell the site to a private developer who will design and build the new housing.

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Portland Green
Portland Green is a major redevelopment opportunity site at the northern gateway to the Lower Ouseburn Valley. The site includes two former car showrooms and the former Berger Paint factory site adjacent to City Stadium, part of which is in City Council ownership. Council’s Executive approved the conditional disposal of the City Council’s freehold interest in the Berger site in 2006 to Metnor who have now assembled the whole site with the intention of undertaking a comprehensive development phased over a number of years. Metnor have gained planning permission for the first part of phase 1 of the development comprising two blocks of office and retail uses and have submitted a detailed application for the second part of Phase 1 together with an outline for the remainder of the site. The later phases of development are likely to be primarily mixed tenure residential totalling around 400 units.

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St Lawrence Square
St Lawrence Square contained terraced flats built around the edge of St Lawrence Park. However, the increasingly unpopular flats are in the process of being progressively demolished to prepare for the redevelopment of the site. The development site covers approximately 4.63 hectares and consists of three areas of land on which the flats used to stand around an existing 1.5 hectare urban park. The site is currently predominantly City Council owned land, including the adopted public open space. The City Council is currently preparing a Supplementary Planning Document to guide the development of the site for sustainable family housing, and it is hoped that this document will be adopted in February 2008. The St Lawrence Square scheme is part of the ‘Byker Design Project’ which also includes the refurbishment and reuse of Bolam Coyne and the redevelopment of a large site at South Byker.

st lawrence

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South Byker and Bolam Coyne
This site is situated approximately 0.5km to the East of St. Lawrence Square site and 2km from the city centre. The site is bordered by Walker Road to the south, Bolam Way to the west, Commercial Road to the north and St. Peter’s Road to the east. It is south facing, gently sloping towards to river and extends to 10.29 hectares. The site currently comprises predominantly City Council owned housing stock, a Council care home, with a small number of City Council owned commercially let premises. A small number of the homes are now privately owned. To the south of the site, bordering Walker Road sits an undeveloped area of open space . Previously earmarked for a south wall mirroring the development further up the hill, construction began in the late 1970’s, but was halted and the completed work demolished.

It is envisaged that this site will be marketed in 2010, following the adoption of an SPD. This will reflect a desire to build in the region of 120 highly sustainable family homes, a mix of for market sale and affordable. Prior to this it is hoped that some remodelling to the existing estate will take place, alongside the refurbishment of a currently derelict block of 17 units, known as Bolam Coyne. Extensive feasibility work is currently ongoing to ascertain the most appropriate end use for this building with live/work units the favoured option subject to confirmation that such a scheme will be financially viable.

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The Ouseburn Barrage
Following the decline of the industrial nature of the Lower Ouseburn Valley, a history which can be traced back to the 18th Century, it was recognised that the current state of the Tidal Ouseburn a tributary of the Tyne was a deterrent to regeneration of the Lower Ouseburn Valley. A study to consider the concept of impounding the Ouseburn at normal high tide water level of 2.6m. AOD was commissioned in 1993, however it was not until 2007 that the Transport and Works Order Act was made by the Secretary of State providing the legal powers necessary for the building of a barrage on the Ouseburn. Following a public enquiry and formal agreements/protocols with the many interested agencies, the contract to build the barrage was awarded in February 2008 with Byzak as the main contractors.
An economic Appraisal of the Barrage Project was carried out by consultants PriceWaterhouse Coopers in October 2007, suggesting that the building of the Barrage will result in the creation of between 86-451 jobs and a GVA generated in the region of £1.54-£21.7million per annum (estimate) within the Lower Ouseburn Valley. The cost of building the barrage and the associated mitigation scheme for wildlife and the loss of tidal mud flats will be in the region of £3.717million, with the project due for completion in the summer of 2009.
The Ouseburn will be impounded by means of construction of a Lock measuring 28mx8.6m and a Weir 5.4m long allowing the Ouseburn to continue to be a navigable waterway for small craft. Both the Lock and the Weir will be formed in sheet piles which will then become part of the final structure cast in concrete. As the Barrage is considered to be a 'gateway' project for the regeneration of the Lower Ouseburn Valley an artist was commissioned to assist in the design of the Lock gates, arch structure and Lock furniture, all of which will provide a complementary vista to the Glasshouse Bridge, a listed building that will straddle the Barrage once construction is completed.