Ouseburn Conservation Area Consultation

In spring 2017 Ouseburn Futures set up a consultation to gather local people's views on the Conservation Area Management Plan. The map and list of buildings is still available to view but is now closed for comments.

You can read a report on the consultation here

The physical character of Ouseburn is very important for a whole host of reasons. An important element of how Ouseburn looks is the existing buildings; the contrast between old and new makes the place special. If all the existing buildings disappeared, the Valley would lose its special character.

The Lower Ouseburn Conservation Area Management Plan, published by Newcastle City Council in 2004, suggested a way of classifying buildings in the Conservation Area according to whether they have architectural and/or historical merit or not. You can read the document here and the Character Statement which goes with it here.

Ouseburn Futures were asked by Newcastle City Council to lead on implementing the Ouseburn Regeneration Plan. The protection and enhancement of the physical character of the area is a vital part of this. The Lower Ouseburn Conservation Area Management Plan, one of the statutory documents for this area, now needs updating and Ouseburn Futures has been thinking about what needs to change, to help the City Council with this task.

The first part of this involved reviewing which buildings should be considered to be of importance and therefore protected. Obviously the buildings are of varying quality and importance. They range from high quality listed buildings in the Conservation Area to tin shacks outside the Valley proper. Having done our own assessment of buildings within the current ORP boundary, we asked people who work or live in or visit the area for their views on the importance of each of these buildings. This will contribute to the task of protecting them.

You will find included in the list the following types of buildings:

Within the Conservation Area: in theory all buildings are protected here, but the Conservation Area Management Plan as set out above suggested which ones are important and which could be considered or encouraged to be demolished (always given that suitable replacement buildings are proposed)
Within the Valley, close to but outside the Conservation Area: buildings which contribute towards what most people would consider as part of Ouseburn Valley, such as Stepney Bank, Boyd St, or Quayside
Those of lesser importance on the periphery

The list is also annotated to show which buildings are Listed or have planning permission or are proposed for development.

It’s worth noting too that we did not include any very new buildings (after about 1995), and have also at this stage excluded walls, public art, and other structures which are not really buildings.

We asked people to click on the map or list of buildings, and vote to show whether they agree with our review of the importance of each building, and also add comments. We split the buildings into 3 geographical areas to make this as easy as possible: central Ouseburn (the Conservation Area), and outside the Conservation Area: west and east.