Agenda item

To consider the progress made in delivering the Wallsend Town Centre Masterplan since November 2022; and to seek approval for the proposed amendments to the projects within the draft Masterplan attached to the report.

Cabinet received a progress report on delivering the Wallsend Town Centre Masterplan since November 2022 including consultation feedback to the draft plan, and seeking approval for the final Masterplan and progress of individual projects within it.

On 28 March 2022, the Cabinet received a report that set out a set of policy priorities for Wallsend Town Centre as set out in section 1.2 of the report. These priorities were developed with the Deputy Mayor following engagement with the councillors for Battle Hill, Howdon, Northumberland and Wallsend wards to inform a Masterplan for Wallsend which was identified as a priority in Our North Tyneside Plan 2021-2025.  Officers then prepared a draft Masterplan which reflected the Authority’s ambition for Wallsend, delivered on the three policy priorities and included a series of projects to deliver them. The draft Wallsend Masterplan was attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

This draft Masterplan was approved by Cabinet on 28 November 2022 followed by engagement with residents, businesses and other stakeholders on the plan.

The draft Masterplan proposed fourteen interventions that would deliver the three policy priorities for Wallsend, as identified by Cabinet in section 1.5.3 of the report.

The scope of the Masterplan area was agreed by Cabinet in March 2022. It covered High Street East and West, the Forum shopping centre and Station Road, with their surrounding catchment area of housing.  It also included the Segedunum Roman Fort & Museum and Wallsend riverside as far as Davy Bank. To the north it included the Parks, Wallsend Hall, and the former Buddle School and arts centre.

In addition, since March 2022, the Authority had been working to better understand the issues, challenges and opportunities in Wallsend focussing in particular on the three policy priorities of housing, place and employment. This work included:

·         A review of recent reports such as the surveys of town centre businesses and customers in 2021 (the “Understanding the Heart of our Town” report.).

·         An assessment of the town centre’s buildings, roads, streets, footpaths and public spaces and development of ideas for improving them.

·         A review of the local property market to better understand the supply of and demand for homes, shops and offices.

·         Review of opportunities to support residents in securing employment and improving their skills e.g., adult education and a “Working Well” hub.

·         Creation of the Tyne Task Force with the NTCA, Port of Tyne, businesses and other local authorities marketing the offshore energy opportunities under the ‘Tyne Powered’ brand and providing a collective voice to talk to Government.

·         A review of traffic flows, transport usage and car parking.

·         Working with the Academic Health Science Network who ran an arts project examining how towns can nurture positive mental health and wellbeing.

The fourteen projects, summarised in Appendix 2 to the report, were mostly based on a place or building, those covering Business Support, Employment Support and Events & Animation apply throughout the masterplan area.

As a listening Authority, the views of residents, businesses and other interested parties on the draft masterplan had been sought and taken into consideration to help the Authority shape its thinking prior to producing a final version of the plan. Consultation on the masterplan took place between 19 January and 3 March 2023. Opportunities to view the masterplan and comment were available both digitally and face to face.  Before this, officers had spoken with some key stakeholders including NewRiver (owners of the Forum), Nexus in relation to the bus/metro station and Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums as operators of Segedunum. A slidedeck in Appendix 3 to the report provided visual analysis of the feedback. This included a summary of comments received on the individual projects. The main findings were summarised in section 1.5.5 of the report.

The individual projects were at various stages of development, for example the Authority had already secured just under half a million pounds of funding for repairs at Segedunum Museum and in February, submitted an application for lottery funding for its wider transformation. 

In the town centre, the Authority had secured almost £2 million of grant funding from the Combined Authority and now delivering a package of measures including business support for new and established businesses, shop front grants, improved walking and cycling routes and for events.  On housing, building on the work at Charlotte Street, included working with partners to improve existing housing conditions, refurbish run down homes and develop new housing.  The Authority also continued to work with Adavo, the Town Hall owners, to bring forward development of the Buddle and earlier this month went out to the market to seek a new operator for the Civic Hall.

The Authority would continue to investigate funding to help deliver its ambitions and look forward to Government announcing the next call for applications to its Levelling Up Fund grant programme.  All of this would be underpinned by the Authority’s employment support initiatives such as a Working Well Hub to ensure Wallsend’s residents had the support they needed to access job opportunities in Wallsend and beyond.

Subject to Cabinet agreeing to grant authority to officers to produce the final version of the Wallsend Masterplan in consultation with the Elected Mayor and Members, the proposed next steps included: Refining a Delivery Plan for the Masterplan which would set out the timings, delivery partners and potential sources of funding for the projects contained in the Masterplan; Progress and support the delivery of those schemes contained in the Masterplan for which funding had been secured; and Securing external funding for those elements of the Masterplan for which funding was not currently in place.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: either to agree the recommendations as set out in paragraph 1.2 of the report; or alternatively, to not accept the recommendations.

Resolved that (1)the progress made in delivering the Wallsend Town Centre Masterplan since November 2022, be noted;

(2) the proposed amendments to Project 6: of the draft Wallsend Masterplan ‘Housing Streetscape Improvements’ set out in section 1.5.5 of the report, be agreed; and

(3) subject to (2) above, the Chief Executive, Director of Resources and Director of Regeneration and Economic Development, in consultation with the Elected Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, be authorised to approve the final version of the Wallsend Town Centre Masterplan and to progress the delivery of the Masterplan.

(Reason for decision: This will enable the Authority to progress the regeneration of Wallsend Town Centre and the individual projects within it.)