Top Story
Applications Open for 2022 ULI Hines Student Competition – Europe
University and business school students are invited to submit entries by the 16 February 2022 deadline.
2 February 2022
In the second part, Victoria Hills (Chief Executive, Royal Town Planning Institute) covers the regeneration of Smith’s Dock, a former ship repair yard in North Shields.
We at the RTPI celebrate the positive role that planners play in our society through our awards for Planning Excellence.
The regeneration of Smith’s Dock shipyard in North Shields was a 2021 finalist in the Excellence in Planning for Heritage and Culture category submitted by Urban Splash and Places for People. The space had become derelict following closure of the docks in 1987. I would like briefly to explore this project, which is rejuvenating an area underpinned with cultural and heritage significance.
Smith’s Dock is a prominent former ship repair yard overlooking the mouth of the River Tyne in North Shields. Steeped in heritage, the dock dates from the 1850s; where it supported a thriving industry for more than a century, welcoming some of the world’s biggest ships before closing in the late 1980s.
Places for People acquired the site a decade ago investing an initial £20m to remediate the site and develop its infrastructure to ensure that it was ready for future development. This included investing into the wider Fish Quay regeneration proposals such as the North Shields ferry terminal with a new passenger landing and facilities created through support from the Smith’s Dock scheme.
The planning officers at North Tyneside Council have worked closely with the applicant to ensure that important adjacent uses such as nearby listed buildings and conservation areas have been complemented by the scheme. Similarly, the needs of the existing operational Port of Tyne have been a major consideration in the site’s design, with the local authority carefully meditating between the Port and the applicant to ensure that both contrasting uses can still take advantage of the riverside’s natural assets.
To date, over 100 new homes have been delivered on brownfield land with green space, a restaurant and plans for a neighbourhood also created. On completion it will house more than 800 homes and apartments. The site has acted as a catalyst for developing the wider historical culturally significant Fish Quay on the north shore of the River Tyne in a joint venture partnership between Urban Splash and Places for People.”
Our thanks to all the speakers for taking part in the event and thanks to Victoria Hills for sharing her expertise here.
Don’t have an account? Sign up for a ULI guest account.