Council downplays new footbridge in housing plan

A new footbridge was shown in artists' impressions of the Forth Yards site

There are "no immediate plans" for a new footbridge which appeared in artists' impressions of a proposed housing development.

The planned Forth Yards development in Newcastle includes 2,500 new homes and potential designs made public earlier this week also showed a pedestrian walkway connecting the city with Gateshead.

Newcastle City Council said the "masterplan" for the site was intended to "show how ambitious a development project it could be".

However, it added a bridge would be complex and require private investment.

A six-week consultation is asking people for views on what types of housing, transport links, green spaces and community facilities are needed.

Proposals show the potential for a footbridge next to the existing Redheugh Bridge at the western end of the Quayside area.

'Significant cost'

The local authority said it wanted to "clear a few things up" and provide "context" following the release of the images on Tuesday.

Explaining it hoped to see Forth Yards become a vibrant community, it described the masterplan as aiming to "explore all possibilities".

Adding that a crossing would "help with that vision", it continued: "But to be clear - we have no immediate plans for a new bridge.

"We know that this kind of project would be at a significant cost and really complex.

"It would need private investment and we are still some way away from any plans being formalised."

Development of the site, comprising 52 acres (21 hectares) of former industrial land, could take two decades to complete.

Councillor Karen Kilgour, leader of the Labour-run authority, has said the project had "the potential to give Newcastle a huge economic boost" with hundreds of construction jobs created alongside the homes.

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