Estate to 'strengthen connection to site's past'

2 hours ago

Simon ArmstrongNorth East and Cumbria

News image — The development is billed as being pedestrian-friendly with less reliance on cars

Taylor Wimpey Artist's impression of an area of housing on the new Clasper Village development. To the right is a small two-storey building with a grey car parked outside. Other property types can be seen in the distance including a four-storey block of flats. — The development is billed as being pedestrian-friendly with less reliance on cars

A new riverside housing estate will try to "strengthen the historical connection to the site's past," developers say.

Clasper Village, in the Teams area of Gateshead, is set to welcome more than 250 houses and flats.

Taylor Wimpey submitted its planning application a few months ago - eight years after demolition was completed on the previous development, which had also been named after 19th Century Tyneside rower Harry Clasper.

Gateshead Council has been approached for comment.

As well as taking its name from Clasper again and featuring a statue of him, design documents say the new scheme will see history "brought to the fore" in other ways.

An area is to be named after his rowing understudy, Robert Chambers, with other parts taking their names from streets that populated the site in the 1940s.

These include Pitt Street and Brussels Street, while industrial heritage will also be recalled at Coal Gardens and Cattle Market.

'Power of the porch'

If plans are approved, the mix of houses and flats will be divided into a series of courtyards with communal gardens alongside public spaces and play areas for children.

Development documents highlight a design principle titled the "power of the porch", where spaces in front of properties will be "a pleasant place to stop".

That will lead residents "to spend time in their front gardens... potentially encouraging interaction" with neighbours, it is claimed.

Similarly to the nearby Staiths South Bank development, Clasper Village would be designated as a Home Zone area prioritising pedestrians and cyclists over cars with narrow roads encouraging lower driving speeds.

A so-called green corridor will connect the estate with the neighbouring Riverside Park.

The development's tallest buildings - three and four-storeys high - will be built on the edge of the site to act as an "acoustic buffer" and reduce noise from the nearby A189 road and trainline.

Three entrances are planned in order to "ensure rat runs are avoided" and create a "safe pedestrian environment".

Taylor Wimpey Artist's impression of the new Clasper Village development. A row of terraced houses run along the left-hand side of a road. Cars are parked outside some of the properties, while two joggers run along the other side of the road. Trees line both sides of the street. — Roads will be relatively narrow to discourage drivers from speeding

Bulldozers moved on to the original Clasper Village in 2015, but work was halted when the final resident, Michael Crossman, refused to leave the two-bedroom flat where he had lived for almost 50 years.

He eventually moved out in December 2017 with demolition finishing the following year.

The council first revealed plans for a new development 15 years ago, saying it would be cheaper rather than refurbish the existing flats and tackle anti-social behaviour.