New plans for an attractive riverside community have been unveiled today.
Sustainable developer PfP-igloo has released updated images of how Malmo Quay in central Newcastle – a place which has been earmarked for residential development for more than two decades – could look, if proposals submitted to Newcastle City Council are approved.
The plans – which will also see PfP-igloo create quality public realm and commercial spaces to enable people to better enjoy the riverside – are significantly different from previous proposals. Developers say new proposals are ‘more modest’ and will blend sympathetically into the surrounding landscape while still delivering a high-quality and attractive scheme.
New family townhouses are planned for the south and east perimeters of Malmo Quay, which is currently a brownfield site offering little in the way of public amenity. A carefully re-designed apartment block, that will comprise 43 new homes, will stand to the north of the site to protect views from surrounding buildings, while still acting as a central point for the quay.
Alec Hamlin, development manager at PfP-igloo, said: “The new plans we have developed for Malmo Quay will create a place that is sensitive to the character of surrounding neighbourhoods, something the consultation process to date has told us people want to see from this development.
“The principles of our earlier designs remain – the riverfront homes compliment the riverside walkway, and we have retained some height with the apartment block, which is appropriate for a city centre riverside site and will provide a place-marker for the area, without overpowering the landscape.
“We think the plans represent a good balance, taking on board the feedback we gathered during the consultation process, while still delivering the elements that are important for this development; plenty of open public spaces, attractive, spacious homes that are well-designed and retaining a degree of height that marks the meeting of the River Tyne and the Ouseburn.”
The plans have been drawn up by White Arkitekter, an award-winning Scandinavian practice with significant experience in designing riverside residential developments, including stunning waterside schemes in Oslo and Stockholm.
The plans, which are in keeping with the wider strategy for Ouseburn will add to the vibrant community that has been established over 35 years of regeneration, complimenting PfP-igloo’s award-winning Malings development. It will further develop an area that was named in Time Out as among the coolest communities in the world earlier this year.
Mr Hamlin added: “Malmo Quay is a complex location to develop, but one with vast potential, as a brownfield site that can provide sustainable urban homes for market sale. We’ve worked on plans that will realise that, and that are responsive to the needs of the area and the wider context of the site.
“We have worked in Ouseburn for many years, and we are incredibly proud of the place it has become. The ongoing development of this area is a key part of building the city’s evolution, creating high-quality homes within proximity of the economic heart of Newcastle, meeting the area’s housing needs without developing on greenbelt sites.”
The submission by PfP-igloo sets out a detailed planning application for Malmo Quay, as well as an outline application for further development of Spillers Quay. In addition, the Boat Club, to the west of Spillers Quay, is retained in the plans with along with new commercial units to boost the area’s leisure offer.
