Developer sought to build quayside neighbourhood

The initial development on Newcastle's Quayside West site will include1,100 homes

A developer is being sought to build a new city centre neighbourhood with 1,100 homes on a brownfield site.

Forth Yards, a former leadworks in Newcastle, is to be redeveloped to create new residential and commercial buildings after standing vacant for almost two decades.

Homes England purchased the land last year and recently received £121.6m in government funding to make it suitable for redevelopment.

Real estate firm Avison Young has now been brought in to find a development partner for the "complex regeneration project".

The company's devolution delivery lead Stuart Howie said the site would connect a "brand-new community with the wider city and waterfront".

"Forth Yards is an unrivalled opportunity to transform one of Newcastle's most strategically located sites into a thriving, sustainable neighbourhood," he said.

The Forth Yards site, in the west of the Newcastle, has been empty for nearly 20 years

The construction work will initially focus on Quayside West, a 15-acre parcel of land where 1,100 homes will be built, but the wider 50-acre 20ha site has room for a total of 2,500 homes.

Newcastle City Council's Karen Kilgour said the Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land funding from the government would act as a catalyst for developing the land.

"In about 15 years it will have created a whole new part of the city to the west and provided a new community for our residents while adding significantly to our economy," she said.

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