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Green belts - Newcastle Great
Park
NGP
Reasons for and against
Find out more
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Green belt
– a tract of open land consisting of farmland woodland, and open recreational
areas surrounding urban areas.
They are protected by law from new building, unless the
government deems it necessary to build there.
Greenfield site
– a term used to describe any area of land that has not been developed
previously.
Brownfield site
– an old industrial or inner city site that is cleared for a new building
development.
Building in the green belt on undeveloped green field sites is a very controversial and contentious issue. Population growth in the UK, the trend towards smaller family units and the demand for people to live at the edge of the city has put incredible pressure on the countryside surrounding all of our major cities. In addition, the fact that land is cheaper and often more accessible at the edge of the city has meant that Light industry (e.g. Atmel at Silverlink), High Tech Industry (e.g. Sage at Newcastle Great Park) and retail (e.g. the Metro Centre) like to locate there. But should we be building in these areas? One such controversial scheme was developed at the Northern Edge of Newcastle upon Tyne, at Newcastle Great Park.
A study of edge of city developments –
Above you can see typical housing at Newcastle Great Park, the housing here is expensive. You could research the house prices here! | Above is Sage, a company found in the High Tech Research Industrial area. The plans for NGP had to include some attempts to generate employment, in 2008 only 3 companies have taken up the opportunity. |
The table below outlines the arguments for and against.
Arguments for NGP |
Arguments against NGP |
1.
2,500 new homes in a parkland setting of 442 hectares will be complete.
Useful for richer residents and generating income for the developers.
|
1.
The three-storey properties priced from £188,000 are well beyond
the average wage of people in
2.
Environmentalists are concerned about the impact upon Red
Squirrel (an endangered species) and deer populations which inhabit this
area North of Newcastle.
3.
The NGP housing plans contradict the principles of no/little
development in the Green Belt.
The greenbelt was designed to prevent urban
sprawl into countryside areas which have recreation and agricultural
uses.
5.
There is no guarantee of job creation.
|
1) Look at this Estate
agents website (if it doesn't work try any Newcastle estate agent);
Newcastlegreatparkproperty.com
Find the prices of 5
houses within Newcastle Great Park.
What is the average price?
The average mortgage lender will lend 3.5 time your annual salary. What
annual salary would you need to buy a house at Newcastle Great Park?
2) Look at the maps and photographs below.
In which direction was the camera pointing in both photographs?
Compare the before and after shots of Newcastle Great Park.
In your opinion does the industrial development look as though it is progressing
well?
Aerial photograph of NGP before construction, the High tech industry area is outlined in red, the residential area is in blue. | Google Earth Image of NGP, the red area marks the Industrial area, with Sage in the NW corner of that area. The blue area shows built and nearly built housing, the yellow area is earmarked for housing development. | Map of NGP, the map points North |
3) Match up the key terms on Urban issues
4) Rank the stakeholders below in the order of which you think they should have a say in the future development of Newcastle Great Park. Justify your reasons in the side box
Click here for full screen version
Read more:
BBC article on
Greenbelt Pressures
Official NGP
site
Newcastle City Council Site - includes contact name for more information