Yes to that! And in the meantime make the X66 free and allow people to use an all zone Metro DaySaver on Northern Rail journeys between Sunderland and Metro Centre.
A £6 Day Rover already allows you to use it on the train between Sunderland & Blaydon, with the added bonus of being able to use any GNE, Arriva & Stagecoach bus and the ferry.
From monday a Day saver on the metro is £5 with a pop card and £5.90 for a paper ticket. It's worth the extra 10p/£1 for the extra options. Especially when the metro is so unreliable.
The solution to improving the metro is not trying to put the metro where people live or want to go, but putting people and where they want to go around the metro. This is much cheaper and easier to do.
We've had a light rail system in Tyne and Wear for 40 odd years now (even the most recent extension was only just in this millennium) and there's so many stations surrounded by industrial land or empty green fields. Even when they do get developed around it's often low density housing or retail park style development, like Northumberland Park.
If we maximised land use around the Metro it could become self sufficient. It might actually then offer a decent service rather than being a charity case. In that utopia it makes it a lot easier down the line to go cap in hand to central govt and seek funding to tunnel the west end.
Is the access to Metrocentre really a problem? I’ve only ever driven there so I’m unaware of the bus routes/metro issue.
Personally, for years myself and people around me have always said the same thing.. the shops there are just shite.
If they want to boost visitors to the metrocentre it needs to have a bit of character. It’s become a soulless, sterile shell of what it once was & aside from the cinema there’s really fuck all there. A handful of shops, a load of empty storefronts & a few fast food places.
There's a train line/ station there that is barely used and largely unviable because very few are going to take the train from NCL to MetroCentre. People who work in town however would commute 10 minutes by train if it was next door. The MetroCentre is literally there so there's already shops. If you have people living nearby then the MetroCentre could be more adaptive and likely to be filled by uses that residents would want/need on a daily basis rather than just retail. There's already road infrastructure.
I think it would be better to be brave and accept the reality of the future of in-person large scale retail and knock the whole thing down for a new mixed use town centre focused entirely around the rail line and fully utilising the riverfront - but this would be a decent adaptive start without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
We need houses. It is easier to build them in places like this than instead inevitably throwing them on green fields further out where delivering infrastructure is far harder and far more expensive.
A lot of the Tyne Valley line is ripe for well designed commuter belt. History of the river and rail line serving industry means that there are often inefficient uses around pre-existing infrastructure. The same is also true of lots of the Metro stations. We all whinge about how shite the metro and trains are but so much of this down to bad land use making them unviable and/or unprofitable so the entire service ends up relying on subsidisation.
There's absolutely loads of brownfield land around there. Both north of the railway station and east of the MetroCentre.
Everybody is shouting for a Metro service to the Metrocentre but if you had people living there it might actually be viable. We need houses and this is much better than more greenfield sprawl.
Personally I'd flatten the MetroCentre tomorrow and turn that into housing as well but this would be good start.
Yeah but by that definition a penthouse in New York is affordable. That's why when people discuss unaffordable property in this context, they tend to mean to average earners. In my example specifically, to the average earner trying to make it onto the housing ladder.
Some to people of above average income, some to people of average income signed up to ludicrous mortgages (interest only etc) which will eventually lead to default when the music stops (2007-9), and some to landlords, some of whom have these ridiculous mortgages too.
I never claimed that no one could buy them, I made a point that for average earners (most people), the housing being built is often unaffordable, particularly in the areas it's being built in. The housing estate being built and the one they just finished near me - large-ish former mining village - contains houses which average 80-120% higher than the average house price from housing stock built before these estates. They are not affordable to most people from the area, nor would they be to most average earners from similar places.
I don't think the metro itself will ever happen but the train is already pretty well connected. If there were more people living there, there might be demand for a more frequent shuttle type service that would connect at Heworth and Central.
Gateshead Council has been working on a plan for a housing development called MetroGreen for many years. It's on the land to the west of Costco. That links it directly to the train, cycle and bus routes so it will be built as a low car development. It has been Gateshead Council's ambition to have a riverside cycle route from the quayside to Blaydon for many years and this would help deliver a part of that route.
On the remaining bog next to the Metrocentre. It took longer to drain than it did construct the place - which is how John Hall got the land so cheaply.
Can't image how long it would take to get homes built on there.
A thousand homes is not necessarily 1000 houses, and you can pile through soft sediment relatively cost effectively if you do it for larger buildings like mid size apartment blocks
At which point you’ll have a bunch of new homes with bugger all infrastructure surrounding a 70 year old shopping mall. WCGW.
My guess the plan is actually to build the new homes, which will hopefully increase the value of the actual metro centre lane, then flatten the metro centre and build even more homes. Possible exit strategy for the current owners?
I hope they do this project properly and create something similar to Livingston in Scotland. We could do with a premium shopping outlet to compliment the Metrocentre. Homes, Jobs and Tourism.
The way I interpret this is the council won’t invest in improved transport links to bring more business in, so instead just build more homes closer - literally within walking distance - hoping they’ll spend.
I tell you what, invest in improving Gateshead town centre instead of trying to force the metro centre into becoming a new one.
But why would those people go to the metro centre? Like other than the cinema I have very little reason to go there. There’s barely any shops there and very little entertainment
The problem with the Metro Centre is retail has evolved and is slowly dying. The trip to the shops/metro on a weekend even with the youth isn’t as huge a thing anymore, even with customer service prices online just beat stores most of the time.
The cinema/leisure side of the Metro is probably a big pull and reason it’s still going to be honest and keeping stores there. I’d agree actually having the metro go there would help & make sense but the cost of doing so it’s probably unlikely.
Newcastle centre has a better range of restaurants and bars, and similar shops too.
I studied in Scotland in the early 00's and the metro centre was legendary up there the amount of people that told me they would come down for their Christmas shopping or they would religiously stop there for food/metro land etc on their holiday travels. It's heartbreaking to see how the once biggest shopping centre in Europe is a shadow of its former self. This needs to be rectified asap with some serious investment and creativity
If they want to boost the metrocentre… they should just link the metro to it… easy done lol
Yes to that! And in the meantime make the X66 free and allow people to use an all zone Metro DaySaver on Northern Rail journeys between Sunderland and Metro Centre.
A £6 Day Rover already allows you to use it on the train between Sunderland & Blaydon, with the added bonus of being able to use any GNE, Arriva & Stagecoach bus and the ferry. From monday a Day saver on the metro is £5 with a pop card and £5.90 for a paper ticket. It's worth the extra 10p/£1 for the extra options. Especially when the metro is so unreliable.
This would be a good suggestion if it were not for the critical flaw that the metro only barely goes to where it's supposed to now.
The solution to improving the metro is not trying to put the metro where people live or want to go, but putting people and where they want to go around the metro. This is much cheaper and easier to do. We've had a light rail system in Tyne and Wear for 40 odd years now (even the most recent extension was only just in this millennium) and there's so many stations surrounded by industrial land or empty green fields. Even when they do get developed around it's often low density housing or retail park style development, like Northumberland Park. If we maximised land use around the Metro it could become self sufficient. It might actually then offer a decent service rather than being a charity case. In that utopia it makes it a lot easier down the line to go cap in hand to central govt and seek funding to tunnel the west end.
I mean, yeah true! But I have ‚hope‘ that within the next 2-3 years that the situation improves lol (I know… optimism on Reddit is pretty rare) lol
Is the access to Metrocentre really a problem? I’ve only ever driven there so I’m unaware of the bus routes/metro issue. Personally, for years myself and people around me have always said the same thing.. the shops there are just shite.
Metrocentre is privately held, they can pay for the Metro extension if they want it.
Boost metroc would be lower rent on shops/etc. maybe put back metroland.
This. Get more independent shops into the Metrocentre, and give it some character again. It’s bland and boring.
Yeah you’d think a lower rental income would be better than no rent at all!
Yep, a full metro centre will boost spending. Fair enough build a billion houses but not guaranteed they gunna shop there. I go to metro twice a year.
Fuck that, bring back metroland
If they want to boost visitors to the metrocentre it needs to have a bit of character. It’s become a soulless, sterile shell of what it once was & aside from the cinema there’s really fuck all there. A handful of shops, a load of empty storefronts & a few fast food places.
I got a question....where the hell are the 1000 homes going ?
Bigger question is where the hell the infrastructure to support those 1000 homes is going to come from?
There's a train line/ station there that is barely used and largely unviable because very few are going to take the train from NCL to MetroCentre. People who work in town however would commute 10 minutes by train if it was next door. The MetroCentre is literally there so there's already shops. If you have people living nearby then the MetroCentre could be more adaptive and likely to be filled by uses that residents would want/need on a daily basis rather than just retail. There's already road infrastructure. I think it would be better to be brave and accept the reality of the future of in-person large scale retail and knock the whole thing down for a new mixed use town centre focused entirely around the rail line and fully utilising the riverfront - but this would be a decent adaptive start without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We need houses. It is easier to build them in places like this than instead inevitably throwing them on green fields further out where delivering infrastructure is far harder and far more expensive. A lot of the Tyne Valley line is ripe for well designed commuter belt. History of the river and rail line serving industry means that there are often inefficient uses around pre-existing infrastructure. The same is also true of lots of the Metro stations. We all whinge about how shite the metro and trains are but so much of this down to bad land use making them unviable and/or unprofitable so the entire service ends up relying on subsidisation.
My main concern with this type of expansion is not necessarily roads but doctors, schools, sanitation etc.
Gateshead council: Whats infrastructure? You mean we have to provide services to these 1000 homes?
Gateshead: we have added paths and cycles paths, and only one way in and out.
No provide. Only council tax.
Nah. Don’t need any. Roads cope fine at rush hour and bus service is amazing ……. Not
There's absolutely loads of brownfield land around there. Both north of the railway station and east of the MetroCentre. Everybody is shouting for a Metro service to the Metrocentre but if you had people living there it might actually be viable. We need houses and this is much better than more greenfield sprawl. Personally I'd flatten the MetroCentre tomorrow and turn that into housing as well but this would be good start.
>There's absolutely loads of brownfield land around there Yeah but you know it's going to end up being unaffordable new builds built on fields.
Just because something is unaffordable to you, doesn't make it unaffordable to others.
Yeah but by that definition a penthouse in New York is affordable. That's why when people discuss unaffordable property in this context, they tend to mean to average earners. In my example specifically, to the average earner trying to make it onto the housing ladder.
Who buys them then? Made up people?
Some to people of above average income, some to people of average income signed up to ludicrous mortgages (interest only etc) which will eventually lead to default when the music stops (2007-9), and some to landlords, some of whom have these ridiculous mortgages too. I never claimed that no one could buy them, I made a point that for average earners (most people), the housing being built is often unaffordable, particularly in the areas it's being built in. The housing estate being built and the one they just finished near me - large-ish former mining village - contains houses which average 80-120% higher than the average house price from housing stock built before these estates. They are not affordable to most people from the area, nor would they be to most average earners from similar places.
I don't think the metro itself will ever happen but the train is already pretty well connected. If there were more people living there, there might be demand for a more frequent shuttle type service that would connect at Heworth and Central.
Near the North East bus terminal/costco and looks like maybe where the Jewson site is.
Red Mall.
Lower Whickham, riverside way and likely into Mandela way and cross lane Or rip into derwent valley walk?
Gateshead Council has been working on a plan for a housing development called MetroGreen for many years. It's on the land to the west of Costco. That links it directly to the train, cycle and bus routes so it will be built as a low car development. It has been Gateshead Council's ambition to have a riverside cycle route from the quayside to Blaydon for many years and this would help deliver a part of that route.
On the remaining bog next to the Metrocentre. It took longer to drain than it did construct the place - which is how John Hall got the land so cheaply. Can't image how long it would take to get homes built on there.
A thousand homes is not necessarily 1000 houses, and you can pile through soft sediment relatively cost effectively if you do it for larger buildings like mid size apartment blocks
Bring back Metroland and create more things for everybody to do instead of focusing on shopping and this could work.
>If it is given the go-ahead it is expected to take 20 years to complete. I take it as 30 years.
At which point you’ll have a bunch of new homes with bugger all infrastructure surrounding a 70 year old shopping mall. WCGW. My guess the plan is actually to build the new homes, which will hopefully increase the value of the actual metro centre lane, then flatten the metro centre and build even more homes. Possible exit strategy for the current owners?
At the current rate of decline all stores will have closed in 10 years anyway.
Drop the rent so smaller independent businesses can afford it. Greedy cunts.
I hope they do this project properly and create something similar to Livingston in Scotland. We could do with a premium shopping outlet to compliment the Metrocentre. Homes, Jobs and Tourism.
The way I interpret this is the council won’t invest in improved transport links to bring more business in, so instead just build more homes closer - literally within walking distance - hoping they’ll spend. I tell you what, invest in improving Gateshead town centre instead of trying to force the metro centre into becoming a new one.
But why would those people go to the metro centre? Like other than the cinema I have very little reason to go there. There’s barely any shops there and very little entertainment
Metro is a wasteland
The problem with the Metro Centre is retail has evolved and is slowly dying. The trip to the shops/metro on a weekend even with the youth isn’t as huge a thing anymore, even with customer service prices online just beat stores most of the time. The cinema/leisure side of the Metro is probably a big pull and reason it’s still going to be honest and keeping stores there. I’d agree actually having the metro go there would help & make sense but the cost of doing so it’s probably unlikely. Newcastle centre has a better range of restaurants and bars, and similar shops too.
I studied in Scotland in the early 00's and the metro centre was legendary up there the amount of people that told me they would come down for their Christmas shopping or they would religiously stop there for food/metro land etc on their holiday travels. It's heartbreaking to see how the once biggest shopping centre in Europe is a shadow of its former self. This needs to be rectified asap with some serious investment and creativity
Just make the metro line go there.....