If Gateshead Town Centre is to
re-establish itself as the core of the broader community,
a scheme of sufficient vision must be delivered that
changes perception from the ‘downbeat’ environment
that presents itself today. The principal ideas at
this stage are summarised as follows:
The Town Centre
Comprehensive renewal of the Town
Centre as a clear demonstration of new ambition in
the community, beginning with the demolition of the
multi-storey car park. A significant, phased programme
of replacing existing retail space with up-to-date
new buildings is proposed at the heart of the regeneration
Framework.
The Great Square
An important part of the answer
lies not in the buildings, but in the public realm,
focusing on the creation of a major new city-scale
urban square that will itself become the focus and
the catalyst for the new community of Gateshead.
The Great Square should be of sufficient
scale to allow the majority of the parking requirement
of the town centre to be arranged below it in a series
of decks, allowing visitors to filter into the new
space through a series of ‘pavilion’ structures.
The new urban square therefore becomes prime frontage
for retail, commercial, hotel, education, civic and
residential functions and the market is retained
as a free-standing form in the heart of the space.
The Square will serve as a primary
frontage to new retail, incorporating a new, principal
food store; flexible, high quality accommodation
for both convenience and comparison shopping, with
a positive connection to the transport hub.
New Homes, New people
The residential context within
which the town centre is placed is recognised, but
an optimistic future for the core of Gateshead can
only be delivered within a significant programme
of new development, with an emphasis on high density
employment and residential product. To this end,
we a programme of high-density residential development
is recommended within the core area to accommodate,
say, 10,000 people, with a distinct emphasis on private,
shared ownership and keyworker accommodation, alongside
a programme of renewal for the social housing that
currently dominates the area.
Pedestrian Connection Spines
If the dominance of the surrounding
constraints is to be properly challenged, a series
of strategic pedestrian and cycle spines must be
established, using innovative 3-dimensional solutions
to either straddle or penetrate the rail and road
barriers. These should radiate from the core and
connect positively into a broader catchment area.
The Gateshead Funicular
Perhaps the most challenging link
is the spine that should be introduced to link the
Town Centre with the riverside to the north, owing
to the significant change in level involved, as well
as the physical barriers that exist here. If the
needs of the elderly, the disabled and infirm are
to be accommodated as well as the attraction of new
visitors from the north, a robust, mechanical solution;
either a funicular, a tram or an external escalator,
must be introduced to ensure the degree of movement
that would benefit the community. The reciprocal
is also true, with the same device offering a connection
to this primary leisure resource for the residents
of central Gateshead. When considering this issue,
it is always useful to study solutions created by
other cities to address similar problems.
Employment
An ambitious programme for the
creation of employment opportunities is in place
and should be backed up with a re-skilling programme
that ensures the resident population in the catchment
area are capable of fulfilling future employment
demand. Opportunities to enmesh the employment offer
into the urban core should be explored and the single-use
designation of the Business Park examined to establish
whether a more contemporary product is appropriate
here. In any event, low density applications should
be resisted close to the urban core as these would
not fulfil sustainable development objectives.
Urban repair
A more subtle programme of urban
repair should be promoted for the broader study area,
recognising that there are many existing residents
who are perfectly satisfied with their accommodation.
Indeed, a number of the tower blocks are seen as
desirable. In these areas, a ‘Light Touch’ is
necessary and detailed consultations will be the
best method for understanding how best to incorporate
these parts of the community into the future vision.
Gateshead College
It is a primary objective of the
Framework concept to attract Gateshead College to
the study area, and in particular to bring this exciting
facility to the Town Centre, rather than the Baltic
Business Quarter as currently planned. In addition,
further civic, social and leisure functions would
animate the core area if successfully attracted.
The initial phase of development activity should
focus on the core, providing the new City Square
and a proportion of the new retail, residential
and ancillary development, along with the parking
solution. In addition, a number of the primary
pedestrian spine connections should be delivered.
