Growth Deal joint plan

Newcastle town centre

• A key priority is to help make the town centre more able to meet future needs. This will be achieved by ongoing partnership working with the Newcastle Business Improvement District (BID) to further increase cultural tourism and footfall in the town centre.

• By using our assets both councils will promote opportunities for housing, retail and business accommodation with priority placed on growing its professional services and a distinctive cultural, leisure and independent retail offer. The main initial focus will be upon the assembled Ryecroft site and other publicly-owned adjacent sites.

• The other main priorities for us will be finding suitable use(s) for the Lancaster Building and the renaissance of the historic market. Also we will develop a 10-year parking strategy and work with the county council to explore the scope for increased permeability in the centre.

• The town centre has an inherently attractive built environment and recent improvements in the public realm/streetscape have set the tone for further enhancements in the coming years.

Kidsgrove town centre

• Kidsgrove town centre boasts one of the lowest retail vacancy rates in the sub-region and has great potential to capitalise upon both rail connectivity (with committed investment in the existing station and longer term enhancements arising from HS2) and its position within the strategic roads and canals networks.

• The priority will be to develop a physical regeneration package to enhance the town centre. This will include working with the community and other potential partners to develop deliverable plans for a new leisure centre, potentially as part of a comprehensive scheme of public service premises consolidation.

• Working with partners in the greater Kidsgrove areas so that all parts of the community equally benefit from the opportunities that HS2 will provide including the wider economic growth.