Plans for a new footbridge over the River Tyne could help extend the regeneration success of Ouseburn to the south side of the river, councillors have said. The Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed on Tuesday that North East leaders have envisaged two new pedestrian bridges connecting Newcastle and Gateshead.
A blueprint for central Tyneside by 2050 includes the potential construction of a bridge from Ouseburn to the South Shore Road area, alongside a previously announced western footbridge linked to the Forth Yards regeneration area. The draft Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) sets out an ambition for a “distinctive cross-river waterfront quarter in which new neighbourhoods extend the spirit of Ouseburn’s heritage-led reinvention without replicating or displacing it”.
Councillor hopes for economic boost
Recent decades have transformed the Ouseburn Valley from a former industrial centre into one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in the world. Rachel Cabral, a Green Party councillor in Gateshead’s Bridges ward, said she hoped a direct pedestrian connection over the river could help repeat that success on her side of the Tyne.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The Bridges ward councillors are obviously excited that there will be even more bridges connecting Newcastle and Gateshead and including one in the east from Ouseburn on the North side to South Shore. We are hoping that the urban liveliness generated in Ouseburn can be emulated in Gateshead and it will attract independent shops and bars, similar to what we already have in our Railway Quarter. This should bring an economic boost to Gateshead and be a great addition to the planned urban regeneration.”
River transport and new homes
Coun Cabral also welcomed the prospect of a “more lively use of the river”, with the SRF mentioning the potential of new river transport. While there are no firm plans for a new ferry route, North East mayor Kim McGuinness is among those who has spoken positively in the past about the idea of a Tyne Clipper service that could link communities like Tynemouth, South Shields, Hebburn, Walker, and Ouseburn.
The SRF, due to be presented to Newcastle and Gateshead councils’ cabinets next week, discusses the potential for a “generational mixed-use development opportunity” including up to 6,000 new homes in what it calls the ‘Eastern Urban Villages’ around Ouseburn and Gateshead’s Baltic Quarter. Building sites include the Freight Village scheme off the Felling Bypass and the Ouseburn’s Malmo and Spillers Quay.
There is also potential for a new railway station near Gateshead College. The document states: “Eastern Urban Villages will become a distinctive cross-river waterfront quarter in which new neighbourhoods extend the spirit of Ouseburn’s heritage-led reinvention without replicating or displacing it.
“Culture, music, creative production, education, affordable workspace and independent enterprise will sit alongside new homes, employment and innovation. New parks, active waterfronts and cross-river connections will give the wider area a coherent landscape identity, while allowing Ouseburn, Baltic Quarter, Southshore, Spillers and Malmo Quay to retain their own recognisable characters.”
