The package will be put towards the transformation of Quayside West at Forth Yards in the centre of the city
A brownfield site, remediation, groundworks, infrastructure activity, and land issues are all at the heart of the regeneration package.
The business case for this package was developed by Homes England and the North East Mayor and Combined Authority, cooperating with Newcastle City Council and Network Rail.
A new development platform
The regeneration package will appoint a new private sector delivery partner and set the foundations of a new development platform. The procurement for a new delivery partner will begin in the coming months as public sector partners continue their work at the Forth Yards site.
Quayside West was acquired in 2024 by Homes England and has the potential for 1,100 new homes, being the last major brownfield plot in the city. Plans include it to be a mixed-use neighbourhood located near the city’s central train station.
Matthew Pennycook, Housing and Planning Minister, said: “This government has a brownfield first approach to development, and we want to see previously used land prioritised wherever possible.
“We are acting to make it easier to build homes on abandoned, disused and neglected urban brownfield sites across the country – boosting housing supply, regenerating communities, and delivering economic growth.”
Kim McGuinness, North East Mayor, said: “This derelict land is in a great location on the banks of the Tyne yet has stood mostly unused for 20 years, which is a huge waste of potential.
“That’s why we promised to transform areas like this and now that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’ve secured funding so we can get the last brownfield site in Newcastle city centre ready to start building the homes that local people need.
“This won’t be a vast estate, where people can’t access the services they need, but a thriving community with great transport links, green spaces and shops.
“We’re driving the transformation our region needs – from brownfield to beautiful – and today we’re announcing a huge step towards achieving that here at Forth Yards.
Prioritising brownfield developments
In July, a new development company was established, named Platform4, dedicated to releasing land no longer needed by railway systems for developing new housing.
It is expected that, over the next 10 years, 40,000 new homes will be delivered on railway brownfield plots.
Land has already been unlocked from London and Continental Railways Ltd, and sites in Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, and Cambridge are likely to see land opened up as well.
At the announcement, deputy prime minister and housing secretary, Angela Rayner, said: “We are facing a housing crisis which has led to a generation being locked out of homeownership, all while land sits empty and disused across the country.
“We said we’d do everything possible to get Britain building, and that’s why today we’re setting out how we’ll get more homes built across surplus railway network sites in line with our brownfield-first approach and our Plan for Change target of delivering 1.5 million homes.”
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