‘Grit and glamour’: suburb makes best places to live list
What’s the Newcastle suburb that has got them all talking? OWEN YOUNGER finds out
ONCE known as a student hotspot, Heaton was recently named on The Sunday Times list of the best places to live in Northern England, alongside nearby Whitley Bay.
Heaton was described as having “just the right amount of grit and glamour” and praised for its mix of Bohemian cafe culture and independent foodie jewels.
The fact that many students choose to stay in the area and bring up their own families there was also highlighted by the paper.
I decided to head to Heaton to see what people who live and work in the area think of it making the list.
So I headed over to Heaton, first stopping off at the main destination street, Chillingham Road.
The first business that I visited is Veganatomy, a vegan sushi takeaway which is owned by Zoe Newman, and has been based on Chillingham Road for just nine weeks. Veganatomy was given a special mention in the The Sunday Times’ article, so I was eager to see why.
Zoe said: “I was previously the head chef at a vegan restaurant, and I decided that I wanted to branch out on my own, so I decided to start my own street food business.
“Unfortunately, lockdown happened so I decided to register my home kitchen and began delivering to people’s homes.
“The sushi was a huge standout in the feedback we got, so I started focusing on that particular product, and Fenwicks soon got in touch about me having a pop-up in their food hall. I am from Heaton and have based the business here, so I always wanted to have a premises here ideally.
“It took three years to find somewhere and I am really happy with where I am now and it has been great to see our popularity grow as more people find the business.
“In terms of Veganatomy, we allow people to eat healthy, choose from a massive range and enjoy great vegan food.”
Moving on further up the road, I headed to the nearby Elder Beer, which is managed by Daniel West, and cooperates with food places like Veganatomy.
Daniel said: “My friend Ed approached me about the possibility of opening a bar and asked if I would manage it, as I have previous hospitality experience.
“It was strange during the pandemic with just outside seating but since opening properly things have gone very well, we have a great customer base which is so helpful.
“The community links between the businesses are amazing and the fact that everyone is so cooperative with each other is the best thing about working here.
“Everyone helps out with each other as we all understand that if the area is successful and receives praise like this then it will be good for all of the businesses here. People are staying here after university and the influx of young professionals has been hugely important, we have the best possible mix of customers.”
My final stop was Block & Bottle on Heaton Road, a free-range butcher and craft beer bottle shop owned by Katie Cullen and her husband Steven Warren.
Katie said: “Everyone in Heaton is friendly and from our perspective, a lot of the other businesses are our customers so we have working relationships with them. I feel like all of the businesses here can feel the benefit of Heaton being publicised more, and coming here was the best possible move for us. Heaton is an amazing place to support independent businesses and I would always encourage people to do that as much as possible.
“There is a lot of variety businesswise here as well as green spaces, so its a great place to visit. It is easy to get to town if you want to but you don’t need to, that’s the main thing that I would tell people.”
On my way out of Heaton, I could definitely see why it was voted in The Sunday Times list as one of the best places to live in Northern England.
The area has undergone a transformation and it really has cultivated a restaurant, cafe and bar culture which is bringing more people into the area with each passing day.