City site’s next big thing
PLANS FOR CITY SITE TO BECOME HUB FOR HI-TECH BUSINESS
PLANS for an “innovation district” where start-up digital businesses will inspire the next generation have been unveiled for a key city centre site in Newcastle.
The Stephenson Quarter – so-called because it was where George and Robert Stephenson kicked off the industrial revolution with the early developments of the railways – is already home to a four-star hotel and office space employing hundreds of people.
But the next phase of developments at the site behind Newcastle’s Central Station will see a technical school aimed at providing hi-tech training for 14 to 18-year-olds being built alongside a hub for new and growing businesses, particularly those working in the digital and life sciences sectors where the North East has a growing global reputation.
Public squares, luxury flats and a five-star boutique hotel will also be built on the site in what developers Clouston have said will be “one of the world’s finest urban developments”. Details of the next stage of the development were unveiled at an event on the site yesterday, with the hope that the various elements of the plan will complement each other to create an “innovation district that acts like a playground for pioneers”.
The centrepiece of the next stage of developments at Stephenson Quarter is a public square between the Crowne Plaza Hotel and the Boiler Shop, an events space used for conferences, live music and other events.
The North East Futures UTC will provide academic and vocational training centred around the digital economy and life sciences, with the city centre site chosen specially so that its pupils are in the midst of Newcastle’s business community.
Alison Shaw, who will lead the new school, said its location will mean that its pupils will “go to school but feel like they’re coming to work”.
Young people would also benefit from the school being next to the Phoenix – an office building that will provide co-working facilities for new and growing businesses, she said. Plans for the Phoenix were outlined by Paul Lancaster, who recently staged the successful Newcastle Start-Up Week.
He said: “We want to create an innovation district that acts like a playground for pioneers. We see the Phoenix building as a place for creating hopes, dreams and ambitions, where tech and digital SMEs can grow and scale-up.”
The £200m Stephenson Quarter plans have been hailed as one of the most important urban redevelopment plans in the UK to take place in recent years.
The site behind Central Station will eventually support hundreds of highly-skilled jobs as well as facilities for business and leisure visitors to the city. There are also plans for three public squares, with the area being linked to the city by a public entrance on the station’s southern side.