The Project
Archived News
Bulgaria to Walker Riverside
18 local authority members and officers from 3 Bulgarian local authorities, Sozopol, Primorsko and Tzarezo, visited Walker Riverside in April. The visitors represent the senior political and officer interests in the Councils responsible for regeneration and included:
Mrs Germanova Krasimira Ivanova is Chair of the Municipal Council of Municipality of Sozopol.
Mrs Stoyanova Katya Petrova is Vice-Mayor of Municipality of Sozopol.
Mrs Tsenova Mariya Ivanova is Vice-Mayor of Municipality of Tzarevo.
The trip was funded by the EU and after a two day visit to Newcastle, the group headed to Edinburgh. The purpose of the visit was to identify common principles and policies for the development of the municipalities through Public Private Partnership (PPP); to improve the administrative capacities of the municipalities and seek to optimise the use of public resources, create management structures, link municipalities and businesses, raise awareness with citizens and businesses locally.
The group visited the Walker Riverside Information Centre, stopped off at St Anthony's of Egypt Church Hall for a presentation by Newcastle City Council's regeneration partner Places for People and also visited the River's Gate show home and were given a brief tour of both the River's Gate and Hibernia Village developments.
River's Gate development wins award
The River’s Gate development in Newcastle Upon Tyne has won the RICS Renaissance award in the Residential category. The 107 home project, part of the wider Walker Riverside development picked up the award on Friday 24th April at an event held at Newcastle’s Civic Centre.
River’s Gate is part of the Walker Riverside development in Newcastle. Located at the entrance to Walker Riverside, River’s Gate offers a selection of 107 homes, from two bedroom apartments to four bedroom family homes, all within walking distance of Newcastle Quayside. The homes are made up of 2, 3, and 4 bedroom houses and 2 bedroom apartments.
All homes at River’s Gate feature an eye catching contemporary design both outside and in, positioned around quiet landscaped roads and cul-de-sacs ensuring a peaceful, virtually car free environment in which to enjoy family life. Many of the properties have spectacular views along the Tyne to the Baltic, Sage and Millennium Bridge.
The homes at River’s Gate have been built with the changing world in mind. They are designed to a high sustainable standard, have a number of green solutions as part of the build and can be easily adapted to suit the occupants during their lifetime.
Heart of Walker
The Heart of Walker Supplementary Planning Document was adopted by Newcastle City Council on the 26th February 2009. Please see the Heart of Walker page for more details.
Weekend of Action
Further to the successful week of action in July last year where over 250 people undertook practical work to improve Walker Riverside Park; the Ranger Service, Friends of Walker Riverside Park, the Walker Riverside Regeneration and Engagement Team, hosted a winter weekend of action on Friday 30th and Saturday 31st January.
Aged between 74yrs – 11yrs old, over 80 volunteers from the community, students from Walker Technology College, Benfield School and various organisations including Your Homes Newcastle, Places for People, Ground Works, East End Alliance, MWH Global, the Green Gym and the Environmental Agency, participated in the event.
Work included tree management, shrub pruning and scrub clearing. The debris was chipped on site but fifteen bags of rubbish were collected from the general litter pick. During lunch, volunteers enjoyed hot soup and a roll, fresh fruit and water, while being entertained on site with a green woodworking demonstration.
Friends of Riverside Park found the event very helpful in networking with other organisations and recruiting further volunteers for their monthly Riverside clean ups. If you would like to assist the Friends of Walker Park during their monthly clean ups, do not hesitate to contact Walker Riverside Information Centre of 0191 2759207 for further information.
March 2009 update
River's Gate - Building work on Phase 1 of River's Gate is now complete. With only a few apartments remaining for shared ownership or outright sale, please contact us to pre-arrange a viewing.
Hibernia Village there are a range of 3 and 4 bedrrom house types available and prices range from £145,000. A four bedroom 'Raby' showhome is open. If you would like any information on the properties available either call into the Sales Office on site or call Kath on 07814 587468.
Saffron Court is complete and has 3 townhouses (2 occupied) and 4 bungalows (occupied). The remaining townhouse is for sale via shared ownership.
Heart of Walker - As part of the ongoing regeneration of Walker Riverside there will be assessments and investigations conducted in the Heart of Walker area over the next few months. This will include
noise and tree surveys along with surveys that will involve drilling small boreholes in the ground. This will provide information for future planning applications.
River Tyne North Bank - The contract for the 'Master Planning' of the Riverside area between the Walker Riverside Industrial Area and Smiths Dock in North Shields has now been placed with GVA Grimley and work is underway. Work should be complete by March 2009 and will result in the production of a masterplan for the area. The masterplan will then form part of the planning framework for the riverside and will guide future planning applications, particularly relating to employment issues.
Red Nose Day
On Red Nose Day, Friday 13 March 2009 the Walker Riverside Engagement Team held a coffee morning a long with a local Walk through Walker which 12 people took part in, with good weather on our side and local peoples added knowledge of the area the walk was a great success and due to popular demand further walks will be organised in the near future with all dates and routes publicised on the Walker Riverside Web page.
At the coffee morning to help raise money for Comic Relief WRET had all knitted an Icon which were raffled on the day raising £137, along with £23 raised by young people who organised a sponsored snooker 5 minute potting session, so in total the WRET and people of Walker raised £160 for Comic Relief.
Youth Offending Team working with local employers
A job opportunity at Eventex (Textile Recyclers) Ltd in Byker has proven to be a positive turning point for a young man from the Walker area. This time last year, Jamie aged 18, was unemployed and had a police record. Jamie was given a month’s trial at the Eventex Ltd in April 2008, and after doing really well in his trial, was given a full time job.
Jamie, aged 18 said “In my job as a van driver’s assistant, I collect clothes from charity shops and pack the lorries back at the yard in Byker. The best part of my job is going out to places like Berwick and Cumbria in the van to collect clothes. The job is really varied and I enjoy doing something different every day. One of the things I have learnt through working here is the value of money and how hard people work to buy things. In a few years, I would like to work on the oil rigs and am currently doing a reading course, which I hope will help me pass the tests to get on the rigs.”
Jamie found his job with the help of Newcastle Youth Offending Team, who approached Steve Gardener from Eventex Ltd to ask if Jamie could have a trial with them. Steve says “Jamie is very hardworking, polite and tidy in his work. He is punctual and has only taken one day off since he started here. Jamie thinks for himself and always does what is asked of him. Jamie has also learnt the importance of being a good worker and has seen the reward for his hard work with a full time job.”
Newcastle Youth Offending Team said “Since Jamie started his job at Eventex Recycling, we have seen an enormous change in his behaviour and maturity. Jamie is working hard and now contributes towards his community. His story is an example of a young person who proved his potential once he was given a chance by a local employer.”
The Youth Offending Team are keen to hear from other employers willing to give a young person the opportunity to prove their potential. To find out more, contact Sarah Irving on 0191 277 7377 sarah.irving@newcastle.gov.uk
JET to success
“My name is Houria. I was born in Morocco and came directly to Newcastle (Walker) on the 10th September 2001. I came to the UK to join my husband and our 3 children were born in Newcastle. In Morocco I was a secretary. I managed other people and represented the company in other cities.
First of all JET has given me confidence. I enjoyed meeting new people during the ESOL for Jobs course and sharing ideas and experiences. It also showed me how to look for work.
I have done a classroom assistant course and am learning about being a Home Language Volunteer with JET. This helps my 3 children and helps me to understand the Education system in the UK. It is so different from Morocco.
I enjoyed Work UK because it helped me understand British Culture better and the Employment Market. I volunteered on a 2nd Work UK course with my new friends in the East End.”
JET was formed in 2001 by the Newcastle City Council ESOL Service (English for Speakers of Other Languages). It is now a Charity in its own right and provides support to those from the ethnic community including the indigenous population, refugees, asylum seekers and some migrant communities. JET provides one to one advice and guidance, through its qualified Outreach Team, in particular to those looking for a route into training and employment. JET will manage the entire client journey from initial contact, to provide the necessary support to assist the client to overcome the multiple barriers that many from these communities face. As part of the Newcastle Futures partnership, this includes referral to additional support agencies and access to all of JET's own free training.
For more information, contact JET on 0191 2263620, email or visit their website.
Neighbourhood Focus Groups
As part of the Walker Riverside regeneration project's commitment to keeping local communities and stakeholders informed and up to date with the latest information the Walker Riverside area is divided into neighbourhoods i.e. Western Gateway, Riverside South, Cambrian and Dovercourt and the Heart of Walker, each with it's own Neighbourhood Focus Group. Local events are held with invitations going to all residents and stakeholders to meet with a range of officers to cover issues specific to the area. During November 2008 eight events took place and gave residents the chance to raise issues of concern and meet with officers from Newcastle City Council, Walker Riverside Engagement Team, Your Homes Newcastle and Northumbria Police. To find out what was covered at your local Neighbourhood Focus Group click on the appropriate neighbourhood title: Heart of Walker, Cambrian/Dovercourt, Riverside South or Western Gateway.
Have you got the X factor? Would you like to find out?
Well....From January a new singing group called Inspirations, will be meeting on Tuesday's at St Vincents primary school, Monkchester Road at 6pm, with Eleanor from the Sage Gateshead leading the group to learn songs from all over the world in a variety of styles. Everyone is welcome... from experienced singers to anyone who just likes to sing and write songs. Under 16s must be accompanied by a parent /carer. Anyone interested can contact Simon Wood on 2621680 or just turn up on the night.
Pride Passion Potential Awards 2008
The Walker Riverside Pride, Passion, Potential Awards were handed out for the second year during a ceremony on a Tyne cruise. All the names put forward came from families in Newcastle’s East End after the community was urged to flag up important contributions. Last year’s award categories – pride, passion and potential – were added to with new categories, business services and people’s choice.
The people’s choice award went to Sheila Sanderson for her work with the Images for Change and Voices for Change projects, which have seen her travel across the country talking about the area and produce a local radio show. The 54-year-old, who is also a school governor at St Vincent’s RC Primary School, the school she went to as a child, said: “I’ve lived in Walker my whole life. I approve of the changes taking place in Walker. The plans look really impressive and can only improve our community.” Sheila also runs a weekly toddler group at St Vincent’s Church.
Alan Gate, Steve Williams, and Margaret Dobson were all nominated for their crucial community work. Mabel Fowlie scooped the pride award, with Margaret Emmerson taking the runner-up spot. Judges picked out Mabel as a consistent ambassador of Walker.
The passion award went to Sharon Cole for her significant contribution to the area. Suki Bell was the runner-up.
Lauren Hindmarsh took the potential award, with Shannon McAllister as runner-up.
The business services category went to Thomas Gaughan Centre for its ongoing contribution to the improvement of the community. The Walker Riverside Engagement Team was runner-up.
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Walker Riverside communications officer Joanne Huldie said: “The whole day was fantastic, and I’m pleased to say everyone enjoyed themselves. The awards are so important because they recognise the people of Walker for their hard work. There’s lots going on in terms of regeneration and changes and we wanted to reward those working to keep the community together. What all of our winners and nominees achieved is amazing. In all cases we believe they’ve been so successful because they enjoy doing what they do.