Our vision for the East of the city
We want to create innovative employment opportunities that make the most of the east’s history and location – through the creative industries in the inner east and by attracting renewable industries to the former shipyard sites in Walker Riverside. We want to improve the mix and standards of housing to make the East a location of choice and we will invest in our green spaces to support the health and wellbeing of all residents. We want to improve transport connections to the city centre. By 2030, university facilities in Manors and Shieldfield will bring life to the inner east and Ouseburn, just a short walk from Newcastle’s Quayside, will be flourishing as a hub for creative businesses. Waterfront homes at St Peter’s Basin will link to remodelled parks all along Walker Riverside and an extension to the quayside electric bus service will connect neighbourhoods in the east with new employment opportunities.
The East - key issues and challenges
- All of the areas in the Walker Riverside strategic commission fall in the 10% most deprived of areas nationally, as do the majority of areas in Byker (IMD 2007)
- There are persistent problems of worklessness across Walker and Byker
- Life expectancy rates are much lower in Walker and Byker than across the city as a whole
- The population of Walker has fallen by around 40% since 1981
- There is a lack of a district heart in Walker that offers key community services.
- Area Programme Director
Guy Currey
- Programme Manager
Gillian Reed