New 66 home development proposed for Newcastle city centre

A new housing development has been planned for Newcastle city centre.

The ‘Future Homes’ project aims to design and build a community of 66 homes on the Newcastle Helix site on Buckingham Street.

Plans have now been agreed by the Newcastle Helix board and Future Homes Alliance and submitted to Newcastle City Council.

The project involves developing three buildings, each with six to eight storeys, and the concept involves construction using modular steel facades, with communal landscaping and green roofs.

The Future Homes Alliance (FHA) is a Community Interest Company formed by Newcastle University, Ryder Architecture, Zero Carbon Futures, the Elders Council, the Sustainable Communities Initiative, and the Innovation Super Network.

The FHA is working in partnership with Newcastle City Council and its development agent Karbon Homes.

Professor Rose Gilroy from Newcastle University, founder and chair of the Future Homes Alliance, said: “It is well known that our quality of life is very dependent on the quality of our housing.

“Our current housing stock does not respond to our changing lives by allowing adaptation; it does not protect us from fuel poverty or fuel insecurity nor has it embraced new technologies.

“The Future Homes project will throw down a challenge to the house builders by creating new ways to live well in cities.”

Philip Miller, project architect at Ryder Architecture, said “The Future Homes development is the embodiment of a collaborative and responsive design process where the needs and aspirations of the community acted as the catalyst for change.

“The scheme puts the quality of life of its residents at the forefront and enables their homes to change as their needs do, in a sustainable and affordable way.”