Hospital redevelopment 'must benefit nearby areas'
GSSArchitectureA £500m regeneration of a city's former general hospital must produce tangible benefits for "deprived communities" in the area, councillors have been told.
Work began last year on Newcastle University's transformation of the site into a "Health Innovation Neighbourhood" (HIN) - a project aimed at reimagining community services to meet the challenges of an ageing population.
The development will include specialist housing for people living with dementia and traumatic injuries, research labs and health-related facilities, transport hubs and shops within one neighbourhood.
Newcastle City Council said it was "mindful" of getting the mix right, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
It is hoped the 1,250-home scheme, a joint-venture with Genr8 Kajima Regeneration, could become a national exemplar.
But Councillor Greg Stone, who represents the Manor Park ward, warned it must deliver improvements for surrounding communities along Westgate Road rather than just the people who end up living on the redeveloped hospital land.
Stone said he remembered promises of a "regeneration corridor" through the West End that it had been hoped would be sparked by the building of the Helix science and business park on the old Scottish & Newcastle brewery, which critics have argued feels too detached from its West End neighbours.
'Distinctive opportunity'
Speaking at a meeting of the local authority's economy, jobs, and skills scrutiny committee, the Liberal Democrat urged the Labour-run council to ensure the HIN was better integrated in order to "drive" benefits for Arthur's Hill and the Westgate area.
He said: "It is a work in progress on the Helix still, but more so on the General Hospital site, thinking about how we can spread that regeneration into some of the deprived communities around it.
"I have been around Helix long enough to know that it is a long-term process.
"It can take a decade or 20 years from the original vision to actually see the benefit on the ground in communities."
Matt Wilton, the council's deputy chief executive, said decision-makers were "very mindful" of the development's potential and that it offered a "distinctive opportunity to knit the development into the surrounding area".
He added: "What we don't want is to rush and miss that opportunity.
"It does mean getting that cocktail of development uses right and understanding what those communities will benefit most from."