Metro Riverside could create more than 4,500 homes on the banks of the Tyne
A CGI of how the Metro Riverside scheme will look(Image: LDA Design)
Leading North East shopping and leisure destination Metrocentre has struck a deal to create a major new development with thousands of new homes, described as a “city within a city”. The landmark agreement has been signed between Metrocentre and Gateshead Council to bring forward Metro Riverside, a new, carbon-neutral city district on the south bank of the River Tyne.
The far-reaching urban regeneration project will transform brownfield land around Metrocentre into a vibrant, mixed-use community, with more than 4,500 homes. It also has the potential to create 5,000 jobs.
As well as delivering the potential to house thousands of residents, it could double the site’s contribution to the regional economy to more than £2bm per annum by 2045. Designed as a 20-minute destination – with everything residents need within a 20-minute journey – Metrocentre bosses say it will offer “compact, accessible and walkable neighbourhoods in a high-quality waterfront setting”, backed up by public transport connections.
Bosses say Metro Riverside has the potential to become one of the largest and most ambitious urban regeneration projects carried out in the UK outside the M25, signalling a major vote of confidence in the North East as a destination for long-term, large-scale investment. Notably, it marks the most significant development of the area since Metrocentre first opened its doors 40 years ago.
Did you know you can make ChronicleLive a preferred source of North East news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here’s more information about what this means and how to do it – you can also do it straight away by clicking here.
Metro Riverside is singled out as a major housing scheme in NECA’s Local Growth Plan and in the Strategic Place Partnership created by NECA and Homes England, which seeks to unlock delivery of new homes.
Martin Healy, chairman of Metrocentre, said: “Metro Riverside demonstrates the power of long-term public-private partnerships to unlock transformational change. Developments of this scale and ambition simply cannot be delivered in isolation.
“By working in partnership with Gateshead Council and others, we can bring together long term investment, local leadership and shared purpose to create a new dense, urban community that delivers homes, jobs and opportunities, while ensuring Metrocentre continues to evolve as a major economic engine for the region for decades to come.”
Mr Healy said the ambition is for Metro Riverside to play an important role in nature recovery, with green corridors marked by woodland which will connect with the river to encourage pedestrian and cycle connections with the city centres and the River Tyne corridor. He said there is also an opportunity to improve sustainable urban drainage across the whole area, improve flood defence and flood resilience.
The Metrocentre, meanwhile, will lie at the heart of the scheme, evolving from its current position as a top retail destination into a centre that can serve the needs of its new residents and workers in the area.
Plans for a major housing scheme on brownfield land around Metrocentre have been mulled for more than 11 years, with the local authority initially hoping to create around 850 new homes as part of a scheme known as MetroGreen.
Back in 2015 a new bridge over the Tyne was discussed as part of MetroGreen plans, with suggestions the scheme could be connected to Newcastle with a new bridge across the Tyne with a tram link – though a report to cabinet members at the time made it clear there were no funds present.
To find all the planning applications, traffic diversions, road layout changes, alcohol licence applications and more in your North East community, visit the Public Notices Portal.
