Regeneration for a new generation at Cleadon Park

Construction work on new £4m homes for the Cleadon Park estate in South Shields has been officially started by two children who have been at the heart of the development since it began five years ago.

While the last two years have been a challenging period for the housebuilding industry, with many sites temporarily closed down, building work on the £90m Cleadon Park regeneration project has continued non-stop.

Now, thanks to £2m of Government funding from the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA), the next phase of 37 new homes is getting started right next to Ridgeway Primary School, with 10-year-old Year Six pupils Dominic Robert Shaw and Emily Coulson helping to get things moving.

Partners NomadE5, South Tyneside Council, South Tyneside Homes and housebuilder Bellway are behind the regeneration scheme, with the majority of this latest phase to be homes for rent, then more private homes will be built once these are complete.

Roy Ashton, chair of NomadE5 Housing Association, joined Coun Jim Foreman and Coun Bill Brady of South Tyneside Council and Norman Fada, land director for Bellway Homes, to cut the first turf close to Park Avenue

The regeneration of Cleadon Park started in 2004 and has already delivered more than 250 homes for rent through NomadE5 and for sale through Bellway.

The completion of phase 3 homes and the new Primary Care and community facilities building are now imminent.

The whole Cleadon Park project involves the demolition of 538 properties to make way for 707 new homes for sale and for rent, along with community facilities - transforming the estate from one of South Tyneside's most run down areas into a place where people are proud to live.

Roy Ashton, chair of NomadE5, said: "These new homes for Cleadon Park represent another big step in the long term project of completely transforming this area into a vibrant community with a bright future.
"Huge progress has been made in the first five years of the partners working together here, and we look forward to welcoming more families to live in these new homes."

Councillor Jim Foreman, who represents Cleadon Park and is chair of governors at Ridgeway Primary School, said: "It is wonderful to see the continuing progress of our journey to revitalise Cleadon Park and I'm especially pleased that we were joined by children from Ridgeway Primary at the turf cutting ceremony because they have been by our side at every step of the way.
"We look forward to further work on this development which will benefit current and future generations for many years to come."

Councillor Bill Brady, South Tyneside Council's lead member for housing futures, added: "We are now embarking on the next stage of work to transform Cleadon Park, and the progress we have made so far is there for all to see. This massive development is creating an area that we can all be proud of and is bringing with it a variety of high quality housing for sale and rent."