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5 minute read
Delivery of New Homes to old Freight Depot
Steve Heywood, media manger
After lying vacant for over 25 years, an historic site in Gateshead - the former Freight Depot off the Felling Bypass – will now be redeveloped, with 270 new homes being built over the next five years.
The Gateshead Regeneration Partnership (GRP) is responsible for overcoming all the challenges that the site has thrown up, including contamination and abandoned railway platforms.
And a final injection of cash from Homes England, the Government’s housing body, has enabled construction to start.
GRP is a joint venture involving Home Group, Gateshead Council, and Countryside Partnerships. It is driving a £350 million initiative to create around 1,500 new homes on 16 sites across the borough.
Lifetime Homes Standard
The Freight Depot site is one of the biggest the partnership will develop in Gateshead, and it will be transformed into 270 properties for sale, private and affordable rent.
The new two, three and four bedroomed properties will meet Lifetime Homes standards - meaning they will be suitable for all, including those of restricted mobility - and they can be adapted as people’s needs change over time.
The development will also be the first housing scheme to be connected to Gateshead’s District Heating Network - a new, low carbon (soon to be zero carbon) energy centre which generates both heat and power locally, via a new 5km underground network of heat pipes.
Cutting edge properties
GRP’s objectives are more than just building houses. As well as improving housing quality and choice, GRP continues to provide job and training opportunities – a minimum of 25% of which go to local people - and an economic uplift, with a quarter of the supply budget committed to be spent with businesses within the borough.
Laura Carr, Development and Delivery Manager at Home Group, said: “We are delighted to be involved in the exciting Freight Depot plans in Gateshead, which will deliver a large number of much-needed homes to the area.
“In achieving this latest milestone, the project will soon be underway and able to deliver cutting-edge properties on a historic site - as well as fostering skills and opportunities within the local community.”
The first residents are expected to move into the new homes in December 2023 with completion of the large-scale project expected in early 2028.