Newcastle Pilgrim Street Masterplan, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
2003-ongoing

The Pilgrim Street masterplan will establish a new city quarter in Newcastle with an area of about 1 million sq ft and will connect the town centre to the Quayside.

TFP have worked extensively in Newcastle. The 1991 award-winning masterplan for the East Quayside has transformed the industrial waterfront of Newcastle into a new commercial and cultural hub for the city. TFP have a sound understanding of the big issues surrounding the potential for optimising Central Newcastle.

Newcastle is evolving. The city began on the riverside but in the 19th century the centre shifted to the plateau. The Tyne Bridge reinforced this shift. In the 1960s, the urban motorway segregated the city centre and the Quayside. Regeneration of the Quayside in the 1990s has resulted in two vibrant but disconnected centres. This project provides a unique opportunity to reconnect the city centre and the Quayside. Newcastle once led the world in retail innovation and, as recently as 1987, was England's top retail destination outside London. However, from 1995 onwards, competition from the Metro Centre and neighbouring cities has seen a decline in Newcastle's retailing fortunes. Meanwhile, national trends in shopping have seen a resurgence in city centres. Therefore, there is enormous potential for Newcastle to engage in this retail revolution focusing on Pilgrim Street. This area is in decline, with a poor quality public realm and townscape, deteriorating building stock and under-utilised land. Connections to surrounding areas are poor and the setting of built heritage is compromised.

In devising solutions to these issues, TFP have come up with a series of key concepts. The proposals are that the town centre and the Quayside should be reconnected by the creation of the 'Geordie Ramblas.' Newcastle and Gateshead have a plethora of cultural assets. The Geordie Ramblas will link these and reconnect the town centre and the Quayside. Pilgrim Street is the linchpin in creating the Geordie Ramblas. The need to extend and rationalise the city centre has been identified. This will be done by reinforcing the legibility of the city, optimising use of existing transport infrastructure and rationalising the retail diagram of the core by the setting up of a retail loop. Highly visible corners will attract people from all destinations and the curve of the street will increase visibility of frontages. New places connect the retail loop and extend cultural linkages. The significance of the work carried out to improve the Graingertown public realm is noted and the need to build on this connectivity, with a variety of places, a people friendly public realm with pedestrianisation and shared surfaces, achieved by rationalising bus routes, strategic positioning of car parking and of service access is recognised.

Overall, TFP's whole-hearted commitment is to creating a place with variety, vibrancy, and a mixture of uses. In total there will be 11 new places and 11 architectural projects. The improvement of the setting and accessibility of Newcastle's built heritage is seen as essential in order to improve and enhance the public realm for the benefit of all – a distinctive 'place' will be created instead of a highway.