Feasibility Study for the Industrial Area - Part 1 (PDF 5 MB)

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2. Consultation Meetings As part of the information gathering stage, a series of meetings were held with Council officers, local businesses and organisations active in the regeneration of the area. A brief summary of the outcomes is included in this section, while the body of information has been incorporated in the relevant audits. 2.1 Council Officers The following officers from Newcastle City Council had a continuous input in the progress of the study: - Brian Leay – Strategic Property Manager, Economic Development Division - Mick Firth - Group Manager (Dev. Planning), Planning and Transportation Division - Liz Bray – Landscape and Ecology Officer, Planning and Transportation Division - Peter Aviston - Area Director (East), Regeneration Directorate - Anne Tavernor - Senoir Transportation Officer, Planning & Transportation Division - Derek Ord - Highways - Brian Kingham - Highways - Bryan Mullan - Highways A summary of the issues from the discussions and related to the area is provided below. Port and Employment Issues Substantial investment in enhancement works to the port area has recently been completed. The port is a strategic resource which represents one of the few facilities in Newcastle (and the north east) capable of accommodating substantial port uses. Within the remainder of the industrial Walker Riverside there is opportunity to accommodate additional employment and business growth. There is also opportunity to facilitate the relocation of existing employers in Newcastle to Walker. This will create new jobs in the area, and ensure jobs are retained in Newcastle. Such development will enable vacated sites to be redeveloped, either as employment or as other uses. If parts of the Walker Riverside site are developed as B1 (and also possibly B2 and B8 uses), which are higher value uses, then there is a danger that traditional marine/ offshore uses will be gradually pushed out. Policy may, therefore, need to protect land uses. It should be observed that the land available with access to port facilities is limited. The opportunity for non-employment uses on the site, such as leisure or residential, is considered to be limited. Some retail facilities to serve day to day eating needs could, however, be accommodated. Public access to the water is included in the Places for People Master Plan (see Chapter 4) but there are concerns about safety of visitors and thecreation of spaces that are difficult to defend and about retention of riverside industrial activity . The provision of a new technical or training facility on Walker Riverside is planned to upskill residents in Walker and elsewhere in Newcastle and to ensure that any job opportunities could be accessed by local people. Notably there is a lack, within the younger generation, of traditional marine construction and port skills, related to the offshore industry. Such a facility could also promote inward investment and job creation, if training schemes can be linked to new (or potential) employer requirements. Also it is important that training courses should be closely linked to the development strategy for the area and thus reflect long term employment aims. The Interface with the Regenerating Neighbourhood There is support for the Places for People regeneration programme for residential Walker (Draft for Consultation January 2004 - see Chapter 4) and there is a need to identify cross benefits and integration opportunities between the industrial area and the neighbourhood. Some proposals might generate conflicts and need careful management. These include the Cambrian estate redevelopment (the first step in the regeneration programme, and thus very important to create confidence), which could create difficulties for heavy traffic movement on Malaya Drive, the proposed “boulevarding” of Station Road/ Walker Road and the creation of a western gateway at the northern end of Station Road. Particular consideration needs to be given to the future of the scrap yards, which clearly constitute a bad neighbour for the regenerating neighbourhood but are nevertheless viable businesses. There is support for the concept of a training facility as interface between the residents and the employers of the industrial estate. Highways and Transport The A186 Station Road/Bath Street forms a route of strategic importance. Any significant downgrading of this route, to a primarily residential road (as suggested by the Places for People Master Plan), would require de-classification from a primary route and reallocation of the designated freight route to Fossway. The A187 Fossway has less residential frontage than the A186 and could theoretically carry a higher proportion of HGVs. However, this has been found to create significant disbenefits to Fossway and it would, also, be very difficult to discourage HGVs from using the A186 without appropriate physical measures. A compromise solution is likely to be the only viable option. Further investigation of the viability of Fossway as a freight route is provided in a separate report. Due to a high accident rate, a road safety scheme was implemented along Walker Road in 2002, including traffic management measures and improved pedestrian facilities. There is a need for improved linkage between the study area and the National Cycle Route 72. Other Issues Other issues include the need to preserve the ecological resources of the industrial estate, the potential to further exploit the cultural, historic and industrial heritage of the area, the provision of woodland areas and the opportunity to create better amenities for the workers. The poor identity of the area (including poor signage, clutter and derelict fencing) was a particular issue on which the Council would like to see improvements. 6 Colin Buchanan
www.cbuchanan.co.uk 2.2 Regeneration and Community Organisations Meetings were held with the following: - Anne Mulroy – Places for People - Nicola Woodward – Llewelyn-Davies, project manager of the Places for People Master Plan - Inspector Peter Fay – Northumbria Police, Community Liaison Officer for the area The meetings provided an understanding of the regeneration programme for the area, both in terms of proposals and in terms of potential phasing. Key issues of relevance are: - the importance of providing a new environment for the main spine through Walker, through the densification and improvement of Walker Road, and the consequent improved management of heavy lorry traffic; - the aspiration for radical change in the Church Walk area, with new housing, limited retail and a broad range of mixed use as interface with the industrial area, with limited lorry traffic (currently mainly generated by the scrap yards and Territorial Army); - the changes in the educational facilities in the area and the desire for a training facility in ship building and marine engineering , possibly on Neptune Yard. Jointly with the Pathfinder Programme, a Community Safety Team was set up in October 2004 and a strategy for crime prevention is being prepared. However, overall crime levels in the area are in sharp decline, for burglary, car crime, drugs and Anti Social Behaviour. This is possibly due to the increased security of industrial premises and open spaces (CCTV and security guards). There are no recently reported assaults or other violent crimes in the industrial area and on Hadrian’s Way, despite its isolation. It is possible, however, that this is due to low usage due to fear of crime. The main concern of the Community Safety Team is the management of the housing renewal period, when dwellings are progressively emptied and demolished prior to reconstruction. Training facilities and rise in local employment is seen as very beneficial for the future safety and stability of the area. 2.3 Businesses Meeting were held with with a sample of businesses in the area, as follows: - The Business Club Meeting (December 2004) - Andrew McFarlane – Blackett Charlton - Peter Curry – Dickie Formet - Neil Morrow – Duco Ltd. - Peter Fraser – Fraser Hydraulic Power Ltd. - David Mitten – Houghton International - Philip Kenney – Jebb Metals (Newcastle Ltd) - Stewart Wild – NIM Engineering Ltd. - Bruce Shepherd – Shepherd Offshore As a result of the interviews, it was concluded that, by and large, the active businesses have a positive outlook, with forecasts of moderate to strong growth. This poses for many the problem of expanding the premises without moving. It was also apparent that many businesses in the marine/ offshore sector have some degree of interaction and that the main “anchor” companies, Duco and Wellstream, are indispensable for the prosperity of the area. For these, the presence of the quay and the services of Shepherd Offshore are necessary requirements. The quay, and the way it is managed, however, does not appear to provide business advantages to the smaller companies, mainly because of cost. The area, therefore, seems to be operating as a cluster, even if there is no proactive management and marketing strictly in the offshore/ marine sector. The overwhelming concern of the businesses appear to be access and movement within the area, and many pointed out inappropriate traffic management measures, particularly on Fisher Street. Parking for staff was also a concern, as most yards are not spacious enough to accommodate both car parking and lorry movement. A secondary concern was the image of the area, particularly because it does not reflect the international role, and high technology, of the companies located there. Crime was not a concern beyond the financial burden of maintaining an appropriate security system. There was general support for the programme of improvements for residential Walker, partly seen as an improvement of the image of the Walker Riverside, and partly because there is a small but significant percentage of local employees. The potential provision of local training facilities is seen as a positive move by most of the medium and small companies (the large ones provide in house training), as long as there is close attention to the actual needs f the local companies, rather than the provision of standard technical training. A table summarising the responses is shown overleaf. Walker Riverside Feasibility Study Section 1 - p. 7
Page 1 and 2: Walker Riverside Feasibility Study
Page 3: Section 1: Baseline Audit..........
Page 6 and 7: Fig. 1.1 - Study Area N A&P Tyne Fi
Page 8 and 9: 4 Colin Buchanan
Page 12 and 13: Fig. 2.1 - Business Interviews Summ
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Page 18 and 19: Fig. 3.3 - Building types N Recent
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Page 24 and 25: 5. Planning Policy Audit This secti
Page 26 and 27: Housing Strategy Housing provision
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Page 42 and 43: 7.3 Character The industrial Walker
Page 44 and 45: It has a variety of building types,
Page 46 and 47: 42 Colin Buchanan
Page 48 and 49: 8. Baseline Key Issues This section
Page 50 and 51: Fig. 8.1 - Issues N Old and dilapid

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