Newcastle Great Park
Newcastle Great Park is a new suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is located in North Newcastle, some four miles north of the City Centre. Much of Newcastle Great Park is still under development and is sandwiched in between older areas of Newcastle, namely Gosforth, Fawdon and Kingston Park to the south, and Hazlerigg to the north. Newcastle Great Park is the largest housing development in the North East of England.
History
Development of this area, Newcastle City Council's 'Northern Development Area' had been in planning since at least 1991. In the 1990s the plans consisted of 2,500 houses and a 200-acre business and industrial development which could provide up to 10,000 jobs. Current indicative phasing shows plans for 3,300+ homes by 2030 and 4,100+ beyond 2030.Development
The Newcastle Great Park development is 15 years into a 30+ year building project. Estates within the Great Park include:- Brunton Grange
- Brunton Green
- Brunton Village
- East Moor Village
- Elmwood Park Court
- Elmwood Park Gardens
- Elmwood Park View
- Greenside
- Melbury
- Warkworth Woods
Housing numbers
House building in Great Park started in 2001 on the Warkworth Woods development shortly followed by Melbury in 2002. The table below shows current and planned housing numbers, in date order, up to 2030:| Development Name | Development Cell | Timescale | Number of Homes |
| Warkworth Woods | Cell H | 2001–2005 | 175 |
| Melbury | Cell I | 2002–2010 | 500 |
| Greenside | Cell G | 2007–2016 | 326 |
| Town Centre | Cell F | 2009–2010 | 82 |
| East Moor Village | Cell F | 2009–2012 | 82 |
| Brunton Village / Grange | Cell F | 2010–2015 | 282 |
| Brunton Grange | Cell F | 2013–2019 | 332 |
| Elmwood Park Court / View / Gardens | Cell C | 2013–2020 | 432 |
| Brunton Green / Grange | Cell E | 2015–2019 | 155 |
| Town Centre | Cell F | 2016–2017 | 38 |
| TBC | Cell D | 2016–2029 | 800 |
| TBC | Cell A | 2019–2030 | 880 |
Education
Newcastle Great Park contains one first school, Brunton First School, and as Newcastle operates a three tier education system older students feed into Gosforth Junior High Academy and on to Gosforth Academy. Brunton First School opened in September 2009.In 2015 the academy unveiled a bid to build an additional 1,200-place secondary school in Newcastle Great Park as potential plan to meet the demand for school places from the expanding residential community in the area. The Secretary of State for Education confirmed the proposal to build a school as part of the Gosforth Academy federation at the Great Park in Cell A with an intended opening date of September 2020. Formal approval of a first school providing spaces for 450 pupils and a middle/secondary school for up to 1,700 pupils was granted by Newcastle City Council in October 2019. The Great Park Academy has been delayed due a judicial review process which wildlife campaigners lost in February 2020. The new schools are now expected to open in September 2022 and contingency measures, including 'bulge classes' at existing schools, are being implemented to provide for pupils.
Business
Sage
The software company Sage Group has their world headquarters in Newcastle Great Park. Sage Group's building, named North Park, was one of the first occupants of Newcastle Great Park in 2004 as Sage moved their Newcastle-based staff into a single building for the first time having previously been spread between two buildings on Benton Park Road and also in Horsley House in Regent Centre.Sage's building housing approximately 1500 employees was built at a cost of £57 million. The building was worked on by Cundall, Tolent and idpartnership architects, and required the use of the largest mobile crane in the country at the time of construction. The building was shortlisted for the British Council for Offices Awards and was the runner up for the Landmark Awards.
During the planning stages Sage's building was initially earmarked for Cell B of the development before switching to Cell C; moving further from the A1 road. The building was designed to be built in two phases and able to house up to 3000 members of staff, however this expansion did not occur.
In 2019 Sage announced their intention to move their Newcastle office out of their North Park headquarters building and into the Cobalt Business Park, the UK's largest business park, signing a 15-year lease starting 2020/2021.
Esh Plaza
Esh Plaza is a business office development consisting of two buildings – previous occupants included the Credit Services Association and the NHS.Shopping
A Londis shop, which opened on Featherstone Grove in March 2011, was the first store in the Melbury estate, but this has since closed. A pharmacy is open in the town centre area. As of 2019 the consortium are in a discussions with supermarket and public house operators to open sites within the development.Community
The Great Park Community Centre, based on Roseden Way, opened in March 2014 and provides a range of services and facilities to the local community including:- A main hall that can seat up to 100 people
- The main hall can be split into 3 smaller spaces
- Meeting room for up to 14 people
- Kitchen facilities
- 2 x Sports England standard football pitches
- Floodlit courts including:
- 2 x floodlit tennis courts
- Netball court
- Basketball court
- 2 x 5-a-side pitches
Transport
Air
The closest airport to Newcastle Great Park is Newcastle International Airport, which is located approximately away by road.Bus
Newcastle Great Park is served by bus routes 46 and Quaylink Q3.The 46 links Haymarket Bus Station with Gosforth, Regent Centre and Featherstone Grove. The route operates up to every 15 minutes during the day, and hourly on Sunday.
The Quaylink Q3 links Wallsend, Walker, Ouseburn and Quayside with Haymarket Bus Station, Gosforth, Regent Centre, Great Park Park and Ride and Great Park Village. The route operates up to every 15 minutes during the day, and half-hourly during the evening and on Sunday.