I'll try to be as concise about the meeting last night as I can. It was well attended, I'd estimate between 80-100 people, which is presumably why it wasn't held in the Free Trade itself. Chaired by a bloke from the Ouseburn Trust and a couple of guys from the council planning dept, it seems that a lot of the rumours going around beforehand are slightly wide of the mark. The Free Trade itself is (at the moment) safe, but the view most certainly is not.

2-3 years ago the land where the west bank of the mouth of the Ouseburn meets the Tyne was acquired by Miller homes who submitted plans for a 9 storey redidential building. Locals protested about it's impact on the area - cars, usage of the land (residential only, rather than mixed), and the size of the building - and Millers took it no further. They have now sold the land to Wimpey who are proposing to build what can only be described as a monstrosity.

Imagine a huge curved tick (the symbol, not the sheep louse) containing 98 exclusive flats, with the short side along the bank of the Tyne being 6 storeys high and rising to 11 storeys along the long side following down the Ouseburn. That's 11 storeys containing slap bang in front of the bank the Free Trade stands on! At ground level there are garages all around, and in the concave side of the 'tick' there will be over 100 car parking places.

Basically objections aired are as follows: 1) The Ouseburn has developed over the last few years as a mixed use area - housing, shops, pubs, yacht club, the Byker Farm, small businesses etc. This is only 1 use and therefore goes against plans set out by the Tyne & Wear Development council. 2) The size of the building restricts the view down the Tyne, and cuts the Ouseburn off from the city centre. 3) The number of cars is aesthetically unpleasant, probably insufficient for the number of proposed residents, and will undoubtedly attract car crime. 4) The Ouseburn is a designated conservation area, and a building of this size will have a significant effect on this.

The chief planner from the council, a guy called Steve Tams, seemed like a decent bloke so any letters of protest should go to him (by sometime in March tbc). He knows all the arguments, but when it comes to the council considering the application, strength of public opinion will be important; they're in a difficult position as both planning authority and property owner in the area and so any rejection of the proposal must be for other reasons than the chance it would increase the value of their property.

Hope I haven't waffled too much. Anyone who knows and cares, please write off about this. It'll only take 10 minutes. Thanks.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2001

Answers

If it's a conservation area then I can't see how they can develop the land further than it's current use. Unless they have entered into an agreement to develop other areas of conservation.

With emphasis vey much on developing inner city areas, such as disused warehouses or old factories etc I'm surprised there isn't any other options they could take up, especially with nice grants for doing so.

If it hasn't gone to planning yet I wouldn't worry too much. Get the support together and cause enough comotion i.e. local press coverage etc and it won't have a chance.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2001

The conservation 'bit' doesn't extend to the mouth of the Ouseburn, it's not far away but not directly affected by the development. Quite how the council figured that one out I've no idea, given that most rivers tend to flow out to somewhere, but there you go.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2001

Sounds like a job for Dolly to me ...

Just tell her that NUFC is going to build a new stadium there.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2001

Does anyone know how much the new flats (apartments) are going to be, they sound quite nice although they may be a charver magnet like St Peter's basin.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2001

Existing single bed flats along the quay started at £140k.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2001

Cheers for that Martin. Just last month me and some locals managed to stop a MacDonalds drive-thru being built round the corner from where I live (didn't want my kids eating mechanically retrieved offal fried in industrial fat). The issues that seemed to work best on the council were: 1.Traffic problems 2.Noise and pollution and 3. Local public opinion. The first two are dealt with by different departments. Get one to agree with your view and you've one. The third is very important. If the council sense bad publicity they tend to back off.

So you need as many INDIVIDUAL letter as possible complaining about the probable traffic congestion and pollution etc. Don't mention the view from the Free Trade! Get a couple of councillors on your side and you'll beat this lot as long as they haven't greased too many palms down the golf club.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2001

I may be missing the point & slightly idnorant but for me Byker has been a mess since Pasish's closed & my Auntie's Butchers shop closed when they build the "wall". Any investment (Which called a "project") must be good for the area. We have to face facts, the Tyne is ceasing to be the source of wealth fort eh City.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2001