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

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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