Our Local Plan will assist in guiding development in Newcastle and Gateshead to 2030 and beyond, helping to deliver our ambitions. It ensures that the role of Newcastle City Centre is strengthened, at the heart of the local and regional economy, and that our development needs are accommodated in the most appropriate locations.
Newcastle has a great economic future and this plan prepares the ground for that success. The plan supports the growth of 14,000 additional jobs in Newcastle by 2030. We envisage that jobs will be created in areas of new technology such as offshore engineering and life sciences, in the flourishing creative and digital economy, in the continued growth of business and financial services, and in a retail heart that continues to innovate and develop in the internet age. This plan will create the room we need for business expansion, on new sites such as Science Central, East Pilgrim Street, the Central Station and Stephenson Quarter, on the banks of the Tyne, and at Newcastle International Airport.
Independent estimates suggest that the combined population of Newcastle and Gateshead will continue to grow beyond half a million people. To meet that need we need to plan for new housing, and in particular new family housing. Currently too many of our residents leave the City as we don’t provide the choice of housing that they aspire to. We can either restrict further house growth which will push up prices further for future generations and force them to move out of the City or we can match our economic ambitions and provide houses that our City needs. Failure to set a plan that meets our housing need will also result in the market taking over, and we will lose the ability to manage housing growth so it is sustainable. This is not a responsible option. Therefore we will plan for 21,000 new homes in Newcastle by 2030. We start from a situation in which young families are already struggling to find a home they can afford in a community they want to live.
We will plan for 15,000 of the 21,000 new homes to be within the current urban area, including 2,000 additional places for our growing student population. We will achieve this through investment in brownfield sites, and extensions of existing communities. We will support investment in the district centres that are so important in sustaining local communities.
This plan has been created through an active conversation with our communities. We have listened to the ideas and concerns, from those worried about the impact on their existing communities, and from those who are seeking new opportunities for places to live and work in Newcastle. We have taken into account the needs of future generations, as well as the people who currently live and work here. We will plan for Newcastle to be a truly age-friendly City. This plan will help us secure a strong future for our city, and communities we are proud of.
For more information, visit http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/planning-and-buildings/planning-policy/planning-a-future-for-newcastle
