Inclusive, Healthy and Vibrant High Streets

In Inclusive, Healthy and Vibrant High Streets, we explore how collaborative, locally-led interventions breathed new life into neighbourhood high streets in Newcastle’s east end. This case study highlights how working hand in hand with communities and businesses can transform everyday streets into welcoming, resilient places that support wellbeing, economic vitality, and social connection.

In 2022, Newcastle City Council (NCC) launched its ambitious Newcastle East - Inclusive, Healthy, Vibrant High Streets transformation programme. At the time of writing, this pilot project had already made significant strides in revitalising several high street areas in the city’s east end. While the project’s future may hinge on additional funding, early successes and lessons learned offer an innovative approach that could serve as a blueprint for future urban redevelopment across the city.

With new government proposals pledging to address over a decade of acute decline across UK high streets, this case study has been selected as an exemplar for its focus on community engagement and strategic grant funding for small retailers. These initiatives provide a valuable case study on how this aspiration may be achieved locally.

The project was supported by an initial £1.9 million in funding (capital and revenue) from the then North of Tyne Combined Authority—now the North East Combined Authority—with a further £900,000 secured, extending the project up to March 2025¹ with a mission to drive transformational change around vacant properties, anti-social behaviour, poor quality public spaces and lack of connectivity. Focused on five high streets in Newcastle’s east end, the initiative has gathered extensive community input to develop a long-term spatial and investment plan. In addition to providing business support and utilising grants to activate key spaces, the project has also sought to foster greater collaboration between residents, community groups and local businesses, with the plan being co-produced in direct partnership with the local community.

The Newcastle East initiative draws on the combined expertise of multiple key council department teams, including planning, regeneration and economic development. “While these are separate workstreams on paper,” Sarah Carr, NCC’s Economic Development Officer and Project Manager, explains “there is a lot of cross-over, so it is important to make sure approaches align.” Deploying an integrated cross-directorate project group has also been useful in breaking down internal silos and helping to maximise investment and opportunities while embedding learnings and principles from each role into the other.

A range of engagement activities kickstarted the programme, running from August to December 2022². They were designed to allow the public to have their say on the future of their area. As Noor Jan-Mohamed, Public Practice Senior Planning and Project Officer at NCC notes about the engagement process: “we have tried to employ as many different ways of engaging as possible and ensure that we get input from underrepresented voices.”

A key finding to emerge from close to 1000 online and in-person contributions was widespread dissatisfaction with the quality and feel of existing public spaces, often characterised by vacant properties and cluttered streetscapes.

These were felt to have contributed to a decline in shopping and recreational activities in the east end. A lack of greenery, child-friendly provisions and diverse retail options were cited as common concerns, with many residents requesting small independent shops, fresh food outlets and a greater choice of amenities for families and older people. There were also calls to reduce the volume of traffic across most areas, with improved pavements and generous walking space frequently requested alongside safer crossings and speed controls.

NCC has been particularly committed to community engagement and on-the-ground collaboration throughout the process, recognising that activating existing public spaces can be just as impactful as capital projects in changing perceptions of a place. In response to resident feedback, which highlighted a desire for more local activities, an events programme was introduced to supplement the engagement and consultation phases. Led by Creative Producer Lizzie West, the programme featured a number of diverse events in Hadrian Square and on Shields Road, Byker from a public colouring sculpture installation to circus performances, contemporary dance and music and a film screening festival. All events have been made freely available, fostering inclusivity and helping to bring vibrancy to a space that is often associated with anti-social behaviour while helping to increase footfall and attract new audiences to the area. Understanding the specific context of the space was also important—as Jan Mohamed points out, each high street in the project area has different issues to address and tackle.

Since then, the project has produced two notable design proposals and is already delivering changes to the public realm. At Chillingham Road, a street end currently dominated by hardstanding that suffers from surface water flooding, has been reimagined as a sustainable rain garden with a variety of vibrant plants and integrated seating. In collaboration with Layer Studio, Harper Perry and the adjacent local primary school, the proposal also incorporates interactive elements such as talk tubes and bird and bug habitats into the design alongside lighting and paving improvements. Similarly, at Welbeck Road, enhancing biodiversity is a key consideration as part of design proposals for the commercial end of this high street.

In December 2024, a new community garden at Heaton Baptist Church was delivered with the support of NCC’s Spaces for Everyone Grant Scheme³. The green oasis on Heaton Road offers a tranquil space for the community while also supporting local wildlife with its thoughtful design. The addition of water butts ensures sustainable watering, making the garden as eco-friendly as it is inviting.

Several ‘soft’ initiatives, primarily supported by strategic grant funding, have enabled opportunities for increased stakeholder involvement in the management and growth of the high street. To date, business support measures provided by CityLife experts and the Business & IP Centre have impacted 57 businesses, created 25 new jobs and safeguarded an additional 31 jobs. Networking opportunities, such as business breakfasts, have also helped traders form peer support groups and build resilience.

The project has also provided funding to help revive and diversify high-street activity. The Empty Properties Grants Scheme⁴ has seen six properties brought back into use as well as creating 13 new jobs.

Despite these early wins, NCC is committed to the wider and longer-term objectives of the pilot project. “The vision is not just to transform physical spaces, but to embed sustainability and resilience into the local economy and community fabric”, Sarah Carr says. If successful, the Council plans to develop this approach as a model for community and entrepreneurial-led neighbourhood renewal, adaptable for other areas in Newcastle when additional funding becomes available.

The NCC's pilot project is redefining high-street regeneration by prioritising public engagement, maintaining transparency and fostering new partnerships. It balances innovation with inclusivity and temporary gains with lasting impact.