Places for People prepares to submit plans for hundreds of homes in North Shields

Places for People, the UK’s leading social enterprise, has unveiled plans to further extend the burgeoning waterside neighbourhood of Smith’s Dock in North Shields, creating hundreds more much-needed new homes and green space.

The proposals include the development of 406 new homes, ranging two-, three-, and four-bedroom houses and one- and two-bedroom apartments. Crucially, around 20 per cent of them will be affordable rent, with a further 40 per cent of homes available through the shared ownership scheme.

The plans will also see two of Smith’s Dock inlets brought back into use as spaces for the public, with proposals for green space and playing areas that sit adjacent to the completed Smokehouses apartment buildings on the site’s Plateau.

Other green spaces will be created around the site, with new tree plantings along the water and around the site’s boundary, with further, green-lined streets meandering through the new homes and apartments.

Speaking of the plans, Nilam Buchanan, Regional Managing Director for Central and North at Places for People said: “We are delighted to share our vision and give more local people a chance to live by the river at Smith’s Dock.

“Our proposals have been shaped following valuable consultation with the local community this summer. We know that a shortage of housing remains an acute issue across North Tyneside and the region as a whole, and that is why much emphasis has been put on creating accessible new homes, with a balanced range of tenure ensuring that many people can live here.

“Our plans are the culmination of consultation and a longstanding commitment to North Shields, and we look forward to creating many more much needed new homes, green spaces and facilities for local people.”

Smith’s Dock has played an important role in North Tyneside’s history. Once a flourishing shipyard, it has now been transformed into a new community – one which respects and incorporates its heritage. In 2020 Places for People was working in joint venture partnership with Urban Splash on the first 134 houses and apartments, all of which are now completed and fully occupied.

Now, Places for People will submit its planning application for the next phase with a view to starting work early in 2024. Nilam concluded: “We hope to move quickly forward with our plans at Smith’s Dock, with an ambitious timeline that will see us start onsite next year. We look forward to sharing further announcements as we move through our construction programme.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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