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In 2023, we appointed a placemaking team (of architects, landscape architects, social and economic researchers, and transport planners) led by Harper Perry and MawsonKerr to help develop a long-term plan and vision for the area.

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 both Chillingham Road Primary School and Welbeck Academy to develop designs for improvements to spaces on their respective high streets.

Our next business get together will take place on Wednesday 20th March from 5:00pm at Chucho’s on Shields Roads, Byker.

At this session, we are delighted to welcome a member of the Neighbourhood Policing team from Northumbria Police, who will be sharing business plans surrounding tackling anti-social behaviour and will be on hand to answer any questions.

You will also get an opportunity to network with your local business community and get updates on this project.

We are pleased to announce a new grant scheme to support projects that will improve the quality and feel of public space in and around five high streets (Chillingham Rd, Heaton Rd, Heaton Park Rd, Shields Rd and Welbeck Rd).

During the project’s initial engagement phase, residents highlighted a number of issues in relation to the environmental streetscape including insufficient green space and a lack of child friendly provision. More greenery features amongst the top three priorities for the high streets, with residents recommending increased tree planting, planters, pocket parks and spaces for growing edibles. 

Alongside this, people-friendly spaces were requested including places to socialise and more benches and seating areas. We welcome other public realm improvements such as landscaping to improve biodiversity and health and wellbeing.

This is a great opportunity for businesses, community groups, and charities to help improve the public realm in these high streets and contribute to the wider plans to improve the area. 

We are looking for an Events Coordinator who can create and deliver a programme of activities and events with a focus on Hadrian Square and Shields Road, Byker. The programme will be free to all and is intended to provide interactive and engaging activities for a range of audiences. Local residents have also told us that they would like to see events delivered during both the day and evening.

Hadrian Square offers a large outdoor location that could be utilised in a number of different ways. We see this commission as a way of testing what events and activities might be successful in this space and where appropriate what could be delivered safely on the high street (Shields Road).

We are looking for someone who would be able to bring their own creative ideas to the programming as well as having the ability to co-ordinate regular film-screenings and a market/pop-up food stalls. Delivery would begin in the summer holidays with at least 2 events per week (weekday & weekend) with further events and activities delivered in the October half-term and in the Christmas period. The programme is expected to offer both large and small-scale events for a mix of age groups. A key priority is to build momentum to increase footfall and contribute to improving the vitality of the area.

The role will also involve being available to act as event/site manager for delivery (budget is available for additional event staff/stewards or security as required).

Aged between 11 - 16 years old?

Live or study in the East End of Newcastle (Byker, Heaton or Walker)?

Please join us for a FREE Design Your High Street Workshop on Thursday 22nd February 2024 from 2pm at East End Pool, located on Shields Road.

Aged between 11 - 16 years old?

Live or study in the East End of Newcastle (Byker, Heaton or Walker)?

Please join us for a FREE Design Your High Street Workshop on Thursday 22nd February 2024 from 2pm at East End Pool, located on Shields Road.

Are you a resident in the East End interested in greening your area?

Or part of a community group that has space to host a local allotment or parklet?

Please join us for a Community Gardening Workshop on Monday 26th February 2024 from 5.30pm at St Teresa's Church Hall, located on Heaton Road.

Our next Business Breakfast event will take place on Thursday 18th January 2024 from 8.30am at Chucho's, located on Shields Road, Byker.

This session will focus on developing a vision for Shields Road. It is an opportunity for local businesses to participate in an interactive workshop about the high street, explore themes and priorities as well as contribute ideas and knowledge that will inform a vision and longer term plans for the area.

This event is aimed at businesses who are based in and around the following areas of the East End including; Shields Road, Chillingham Road, Heaton Road, Heaton Park Road, and Welbeck Road.

Our next business breakfast will take place on Thursday 23rd November from 8:30am at The Whale’s Head on Chillingham Road.

The session will focus on organisations who are doing good for their local community by providing skills and employability opportunities in the inner East End. Speakers will include Suzanne Jobson from Karbon Homes and Andy Haddon, Founder of Big River Bakery.

There will also be opportunities to network with the local business community and get updates on this project.

This winter, Recyke y’bike has partnered with Heaton Perk (103-105 Heaton Park Road, NE6 5NR) and RestoLand (128 Shields Road, NE6 1DS) to offer free repair cafes between November 2023 and April 2024.

This means that on the first and third Tuesday mornings of the month, people can walk into these cafes, order a coffee and snack and get a complimentary free basic service for their bikes, including brakes, gears, grips and puncture repair.

There is also the option to partake in the solidarity service during your visit to RestoLand, which will give someone who might not be able to afford it access to a warm space, a hot drink, snack and free bike service.

We have more events happening in August in September, starting with our Crafty Club Shop Hop event on 14 August.

Craft workshops are taking place on Shields Road outside shops and at the East End Library:

10-10.45 Max Spielmann – Decorated frames

11-11.45 Fantasia Florist – Tea cup planters

12-12.45 Lacky’s – Bejewelled boxes

2-3.30 East End Library – sample all the crafts in one place

Activities are open to all, and you get to keep your craft creation. No booking required.

Join us on Shields Road on the 4th and 5th August to talk about your high street. Find us at the East End Library and Community Hub and tell us about your views and experiences of Shields Road.

Friday 4 August

Our Shields Road | 2pm-5pm | East End Library and Community Hub Drop into the East End Library and Community Hub to talk about your high street and your views and experiences of Shields Road.

Join us for a number of events across our high streets throughout July, August and September.

We have 2 business breakfast events happening on 28 June and 5 July for businesses in the East End of the city.

Inspector of Neighbourhood Policing Craig Patchett will join the business breakfast event on 28 June to share some of the initiatives that Northumbria Police have been trialling in the Shields Road area to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.

The event on 5 July will be a workshop delivered by Not for Profit and Purpose Led Consultant, Kate Duffy (pictured) to support East End businesses in the preparation and development of funding applications

If you are a local business based in the inner East End of Newcastle (including Chillingham Road, Heaton Road, Heaton Park Road, and Shields Road), please come along to our next business breakfast event on Thursday 18th May from 8:30am at the charming Heaton Perk café, set in the heart of Heaton Park Road.

You will have an opportunity to hear from local business owners as to how they have accessed and individually benefitted from the Citylife Business Support Programme, enabling them to grow and diversify their business, products, and services.

You will also meet Web, Brand & Marketing expert, Andy Ditchburn. Andy will demonstrate how he has worked with a variety of businesses across different sectors effectively market their products and services. Through his expertise, Andy has helped business owners uncover opportunities and expand their activities.

This event presents a great opportunity to network with likeminded people within the local business community and learn more about the Citylife Business Support programme and Newcastle East High Streets project.

We have an exciting new grants programme to boost footfall and bring back pride to the East End of Newcastle.

Grants are available to help bring empty properties back in to use on Chillingham Road, Heaton Road, Heaton Park Road, Shields Road, and Welbeck Road. Funding is also available to deliver events on and around the high streets.

The funds are aimed at making real improvements for people living, visiting, and working in the area and could be used by community groups, local businesses, or charities to take over an empty property or hold community events, markets, or pop-up shops.

We developed these grants based on what people living in the area told us they would like to see, to encourage more people to use and enjoy what their local high street has to offer.

Feedback gathered through the Commonplace online survey and events highlighted that people want to see empty buildings brought back in to use to improve the appearance of the high street. They also want to see empty space used differently for community or cultural uses as well as for independent shops including those selling fresh food.

Better use of outdoor public space, offering events and activities for people of all ages to enjoy would also be welcomed.

This is a great opportunity for small and new businesses, community groups, charities and arts and cultural groups to breathe new life into these high streets and contribute to the wider plans to improve the area.

We are starting this year’s series of East End Business Breakfasts starting on Tuesday 21st March from 8:30am to 10:30am at The Grazin’ Kitchen in Shields Road, Byker.

If you are a local business based in the inner East End of Newcastle, including Chillingham Road, Heaton Road, Heaton Park Road, Shields Road, and Welbeck Road, and want to learn about new project updates, please join us for a free and interactive Business Breakfast.

We are pleased to share the Newcastle East High Streets Project Engagement Report.

The report presents an analysis of first stage engagement feedback from the project, which gathered views and ideas from residents and stakeholders about Chillingham Road, Heaton Road, Heaton Park Road, Shields Road and Welbeck Road with a focus on public space, how people get around, buildings and their use.

Engagement ran from mid-August to the end of October 2022, with close to 1,000 online and face-to-face contributions collected from across the east end and beyond.

Six key messages emerged from the analysis which will inform the next phase of the project, including developing a long-term plan for the area and launching a grants scheme that will enable improvements and animation of the five high streets.

As part of the Newcastle East High Streets project, BIPC (Business & Intellectual Property Centre) Newcastle will be hosting a “Go Green for Business Growth” workshop at Byker Community Fire Station to introduce green, sustainable, and ethical business practices in your business to attract and retain customers, reduce energy costs, and help you secure new contracts and investment.

The workshop will feature a session with Andy Ditchburn from Perro Communications, who will detail how businesses can use their green credentials to create a competitive advantage and provide general tips on how to communicate green credentials through marketing and communication material.

You’ll also hear from businesses who have developed green credentials about the real difference it has made and the benefits and BIPC ‘s Green Experts in Residence will be talking about the free support they can provide to help you along your green journey.

The BIPC Team will also be telling you about the newly launched Citylife Business Support Grant available to Newcastle-based businesses and provide more information about the Newcastle East High Streets project to help transform High Streets in the East End.

We are also looking for businesses looking to adopt greener ways of trading to get involved in our new Green Street project, due to commence in early 2023. We’ll explain about the enhanced support you can access through this project and will be recruiting interested businesses at the event.

More details about the event and how to register can be found at:

https://www.bipcnortheast.co.uk/events/go-green-for-business-growth/

Remember there is also a Business Breakfast event on 24 November at Byker City Farm, where you can also hear from BIPC Newcastle’s business experts and network with local business owners. More details about that event can be found at:

With a few days left to go, we are reminding people to have their say on how to improve key shopping areas in the east end of the city, to boost footfall and bring back pride in local high streets.

Just under £2 million is ear-marked for Chillingham Road, Heaton Road, Heaton Park Road, Shields Road and part of Welbeck Road as part of this project to create healthy, inclusive and vibrant high streets.

Funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority’s Town and High Street Innovation Programme, Newcastle City Council will use the pot of money to bring back empty properties into use, provide support for local traders and create greener and more attractive public spaces, as well as develop a long-term investment plan for the area.

Public engagement on what improvements the public would like to see, including what businesses and services are needed, what would improve accessibility and how the area could be made more attractive, closes on Sunday 30 October at 11:59pm.

The feedback from this engagement will be used to develop plans for the area, with multi-disciplinary teams from across the council working together to test new approaches and deliver the project over the next two years.

Cllr Alex Hay, cabinet member for a resilient city, said: “We’re now reaching the end of the first phase of this exciting pilot project, which aims to create vibrant high streets in the east end of the city.

“When high streets thrive, communities thrive, so it’s really important that people tell us what they want to see on these high streets – whether that is taking over of empty buildings for community use, creating more attractive green spaces or improving what shops and services are available. We also want to hear from businesses about what support they need and how we can help their businesses grow.

“Many thanks to everyone who has taken part so far. We want the future of these high streets to be shaped by the people who live, work and visit the area, so we are reminding people that they have until 30 October to have their say on this first phase of the project.

“As we’ve said before, we recognise that this is a great opportunity for the east end, and we know there are many other high streets that would benefit from this type of investment. We only have limited funding for this pilot project, which we want to develop as a blue-print to roll out to other areas for when funding becomes available.”

Newcastle City Council put forward the Inner East for this investment due to both opportunities – high streets that support independent retailers, are vibrant due to their catchment and have a range of community assets – and challenges – including areas with high vacancy rates, lower footfall and have been experiencing decline which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. All of the streets are within walking distance of each other, and the aim is to improve connectivity, whilst diversifying the offer in terms of what they provide to the communities of this area.

Over two years the project will develop a long-term investment plan, which will be informed by this first phase of public engagement and then further shaped by co-design involving people, community groups and businesses living in the area. A Transformation Board will be established to oversee and guide this process.

As well as the public engagement phase, the project will also include business support, together with a Green Streets pilot which will provide support for businesses to adopt more sustainable practices and reduce their carbon footprint.

It is estimated that 130 businesses and voluntary and community groups will benefit, as well as create or improve 18 spaces for shared community and/or businesses including nine empty properties brought back into use and create 40 jobs.

The council will also look to develop this approach as a blue-print for an area-based community and entrepreneurial-led model for neighbourhood renewal which can then be rolled out and/or adapted to other areas and local centres in Newcastle for when further funding becomes available or can be unlocked.

Are you a local business based in the inner East End of Newcastle (in particular Chillingham Road, Heaton Road, Heaton Park Road, or Shields Road)?

We have a range of interactive Business Breakfast Events in November, where you can learn more about the project's aims to help improve high streets in the East End, as well as how to access free business support tailored to your needs.

You will also have an opportunity to hear from guest business experts and to network with like-minded people within the local business community over a delicious brunch.

Please see dates below for each event, along with more information and details of how to register.

9th November

First of all a big thank you for your comments and ideas. The site will stay open until mid October and you can make multiple comments on as many locations as you’d like. There may be places you love in the East and others not so much – please tell us about them and also we want to know if anything is missing on our high streets that could make them more inclusive, healthy and vibrant.