Newcastle: A North Eastern Powerhouse
As a Northern Powerhouse city, it is easy to overlook Newcastle favouring more prominent regional hotspots. Yet this famous riverside city is undergoing unprecedented investment levels, helping it emerge as a North Eastern Powerhouse in its own right.
Together, the combined urban cores of Newcastle and Gateshead have flourished into a prosperous location for business activity in the North East.
In recent years, Newcastle and Gateshead have benefitted from a £92m investment programme dubbed an ‘Accelerated Development Zone’ (ADZ), which has helped stimulate business and create new jobs across the region.
A part of the ADZ includes the creation of the £200 million Stephenson Quarter, which contains a mixed-use commercial regeneration scheme that has helped expand the revitalisation of the city’s urban core. The Stephenson Quarter is set to benefit from the £4 million redevelopment of Newcastle’s Victorian Central Station, which will create two new entrances, plus a new concourse, taxi rank and car parks as part of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Leading the way in science and tech
Over the last five years, Newcastle’s tech sector has witnessed significant growth, with digital firms in the region generating a combined turnover of £1.26 billion – up 25% from last year.
The introduction of the hotly anticipated £120 million JEREMIE2 has continued to fuel the tech sector’s growth in the region. It is expected to support over 600 businesses and help create around 3,500 new jobs over five years.
Newcastle is one of the best up and coming areas in North East England, and is home to one of the largest concentrations of games development companies outside of London.
With the tech sector booming in Newcastle, it is easy to see why the North East of England has been described as the ‘fastest-growing tech hub’ by the then Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, Matt Hancock.
Newcastle will also benefit from the construction of the £350 million Helix project, which has been hailed as the ‘biggest regeneration’ the city has seen in decades. The flagship project at the western edge of the city centre will see the creation of a huge science and business park alongside additional commercial and residential space. The Helix is set to create 4,000 new jobs and boost the economy by £960 million upon completion.
However, it is not just the tech and science sectors making waves across the city. Newcastle is also an attractive location for start-ups and was ranked 12th in the UK’s top 15 UK cities in 2021 to launch a business. Across the north of England, the Northern Powerhouse initiative will continue to provide ongoing scope for new developments that will power a resurgence in the economy in the North East.
Cities including Newcastle remain an attractive option for investor activity and will continue to deliver a wide range of benefits for property investors in 2022 and beyond.