Striking new images show more of what to expect when improvement works to the North East’s most-visited high street complete as Newcastle City Council prepares to embark on the next stage of Northumberland Street’s stunning transformation.
The famous shopping haven in Newcastle city centre has been undergoing extensive groundworks to pave the way for an elegant modernisation as part of a wider multi-million-pound transformation of the city centre.
The works carried out so far represent the first time in decades that the depths of the historic street has been upgraded, providing a significant challenge to keep the street open to residents and visitors and allow businesses to remain open.
Over the years, utility suppliers and others have undertaken upgrades and maintenance to provide important underground connections and services for local businesses and residents, but that has left the city with an unclear picture of the condition below ground and resulted in unsightly tarmac patches.
Newcastle City Council, working with construction partner Taylor Woodrow and the utility companies has confirmed that the vital work to relocate or protect those connections has concluded. Because of the work involved in this the overall programme has been slightly extended and is now due for completion by early 2026, although the majority of the works will be complete by the end of 2025.
Further phases of the transformation will see the installation of street furniture, planting and lighting, restoring Northumberland Street into one of Europe’s greatest shopping and leisure areas with a vision inspired by its rich and varied history.
Cllr Dan Greenhough, Newcastle City Council Cabinet Member for Economy, Jobs and Skills, said:
“Northumberland Street is the beating heart of the centre of Newcastle, and it deserves the visuals, features and attractions that mirror its status.
“It was always going to be a major challenge to conduct the works beneath the surface, and given its history – way back as a medieval thoroughfare for pilgrims travelling to Holy Island, and more recently as a stretch of the A1 – we were bound to be entering the unknown to a degree with centuries of history lying beneath the thousands of people accessing the street each day.
“I’d like to thank residents and businesses for their patience, and we can now look forward to seeing and experiencing a Northumberland Street that is befitting of its importance to Newcastle and the wider city region.
“We’ve already seen widespread improvements to the iconic Grey Street, Saville Row and Ridley Place, and I’m incredibly excited to see the finished product on Northumberland Street as we continue to provide a city centre that our communities deserve.”
The new and refined layout of Northumberland Street will include robust paving with a pattern inspired by the Lindisfarne Gospels tapestry which is so closely linked to the street’s past. New seating will be installed to improve accessibility; new trees will be planted to increase canopy cover and provide sustainable drainage, alongside rain gardens; and lighting will be provided by sculpted way-finder masts reminiscent of the poles that marked the way across the bay to Holy Island.
The Haymarket end of the street will be first to benefit from the new rain gardens and seating, with the initial installation in May. There will also be temporary planting to introduce greening to the street for the summer months, with the main seasonal programme taking place later in the year allowing for more hardy, long-term planting.
Cllr Greenhough added:
“This transformation will not only revitalise the look and feel of Northumberland Street, but it will also provide better quality furniture and access and provide a more welcoming and business-friendly environment for people to stroll, sit and spend their time.
“We appreciate the temporary tarmac patchworks have been unsightly, but these were only ever a stopgap on our journey to revitalising Northumberland Street into a high street ready to flourish, with a nod to its cultural legacy.
“I look forward to seeing the works being completed and ensuring Northumberland Street continues to be a vibrant hub for our thriving city, allowing businesses new and old to continue to flourish, and keep residents and visitors alike coming back to our fantastic city centre.”
