Our Chillingham Road - Rain Garden

As part of the Newcastle East High Streets project, we have funding to deliver some improvements to the feel and quality of public space in and around the five project high streets.

We have been working with Chillingham Road Primary School to develop a design to improve a public space adjacent to the school, at the junction of Ninth Avenue and Chillingham Road.

Current Situation

The area is currently covered by paving, adding little to the feel and environmental quality of Chillingham Road, as seen in the photographs below:

The space also suffers from surface water flooding which we are hoping to address through the integration of sustainable drainage systems as part of the project proposal.

The top three priorities for Chillingham Road that were identified as part of the project’s initial online community consultation and engagement were:

1. Less traffic – 59%                        
2. Increased greenery – 45%                      
3. Protected space for cycling – 43%

You can take a look at the Engagement Report, which captures all of the feedback from the first stage of engagement here.

Design Proposal

We are proposing to build two rain gardens* with a variety of planting and trees within them and some seating areas. We have also incorporated interactive elements such as talk tubes and bird and bug habitats into the design.

*Rain gardens capture rainwater run off from surfaces and allow it to seep slowly into the ground, helping with drainage.

Please see below for a plan of the proposed works:

The image below shows what the space could look like:

This project is being developed for Newcastle City Council by Layer.studio and Harper Perry.

If you have any further comments or queries about the scheme, you can contact us at economicdevelopment@newcastle.gov.uk using 'Chillingham Road Rain Garden' as the subject line.