Council to turn clock back 100 years with terrace homes transformation

Hundreds of terraced homes in Gateshead could soon be returned to looking they way they did when they were built almost a century ago.

Gateshead Council is seeking planning permission to carry out major improvements to around 200 homes in the Bensham area.

The works would radically improve their appearance and would include new front doors and windows, new door steps and footpaths, and repair and painting of external stonework. New front boundary walls, fences and gates are also to be installed.

The improvements are proposed for properties in Rectory Road, Hyde Park Street, Bensham Crescent, Windsor Avenue, Whitehall Road, Brighton Road and Curzon Street.

The proposals form part of a wider regeneration of the Bensham and Saltwell area which has already seen substantial new investment in existing properties, new housing, environmental improvements and better services.

Councillor Angela Armstrong, Cabinet member for Housing, says: “This is a huge programme which continues to benefit thousands of local residents.

“The Neighbourhood Plan for Bensham and Saltwell, which local residents themselves played a crucial part in devising, identified a large number of fairly simple improvements we could make to radically improve the area. Our six-year project to make those improvements is now well underway.

“The work we are requesting planning permission for would not only improve the appearance of these homes, it would improve the appearance of the whole street and put pride back into the area. That’s good news for everyone.”

If approved, the work would be carried out as a Block Improvement Scheme, which enables work to be carried out to a large number of properties in the same street by one contractor as a single contract.

The improvements are being jointly funded by Gateshead Council and Bridging NewcastleGateshead, the government’s Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder, and require homeowners and landlords to fund only 20% of the cost of the work.

To qualify for this grant aid, private landlords are also required to carry out additional improvement works to their properties to bring them up to a higher standard and to demonstrate that they are managing their property and tenancy properly.