Grainger Town

Grainger Town is the historic heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Based around classical streets built by Richard Grainger, a builder and developer, between 1835 and 1842, some of Newcastle upon Tyne's finest buildings and streets lie within the Grainger Town area of the City centre including Grainger Market, Theatre Royal, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street. These buildings are predominately four storeys, with vertical dormers, domes, turrets and spikes.

Richard Grainger was said to 'have found Newcastle of bricks and timber and left it in stone'. Of Grainger Towns 450 buildings, 244 are listed, of which 29 are grade I and 49 are grade II*.

Grainger Town covers approximately 36 hectares and the architecture is dubbed 'Tyneside Classical' architecture. One of the streets of Grainger town, Grey Street was described by Pevsner as 'one of the finest streets in England'. The area also includes a Mediaeval 13th century Dominican Friary, pieces of the historic Town Walls and many fine Victorian buildings.

Almost all of Grainger Town is within Newcastle's Central Conservation Area, one of the first to be designated in England. The majority of the buildings are in private ownership. The area around Grey's Monument and Grey Street is expanding fast with high quality shopping outlets, designer fashions and jewellery. The Central Exchange, with its tiled Edwardian Central Arcade, is located within this area. Inside are shops and the Newcastle Tourist Information Centre for maps and guides to the City.

1960s - 90s

In the 1960s and 1970s, parts of Grainger Town were demolished to make way for projects such as the Eldon Square. In the 1980s and early 1990s, this once prosperous area of the city was overtaken by new centres of retail and commercial activity.

In the early 1990s, Richard Grainger's legacy was in poor shape as shops and offices moved out to other locations. The residential population of the area was falling rapidly to 1,200 and showing no signs of improvement. Around 100,000 m² of floor space were vacant and the area exhibited all the classic symptoms of urban decay. This led to calls for clearance of listed properties and whole streets. Structural problems became evident with 47% of its 244 listed buildings classed as being 'at risk' and a further 29% classified as vulnerable. The once prosperous area was now in the realms of a very poor environment. This meant that any investor confidence was low. All these factors led to the Grainger Town project being established.

The Grainger Town project

Project Information

A programme of property development and environmental enhancement was started in 1993 with Newcastle City Council and the English Heritage. This tackled most of the worst buildings at risk and began to stop the decline of the area.

In 1996, Newcastle City council, the English Heritage and English Partnerships decided that the area could no longer be left to take care of itself. So in 1996, EDAW were commissioned to produce a regeneration strategy for Grainger Town and to prepare a bid for Government funding.

The proposals aimed to turn Grainger Town into a dynamic and competitive location in the heart of the city. The aims of the project was to make Grainger Town a high quality environment appropriate to a major European regional capital. Arrangements were then put in place to make this a reality. The project was to take place over a six year period.

The Grainger Town project commenced in April 1997 and by its close in March 2003, over £174,000,000 had been attracted into the area including £146 million from the private sector, exceeding the Projects target of £74 million.

The projects major achievements

The Union Rooms

JD Wetherspoons, a U.K. pub chain, spent 13 months restoring the French Renaissance style of the former Union Club opposite Newcastle Central Station. When completed, the pub was renamed The Union Rooms. As a result of the restoration, architectural features such as a 15 foot high stained glass window and a huge stained glass dome, were added to replace the original features that had fallen beyond repair.

Bar Luga

The building was built in 1835 by Richard Grainger for the Bank of England. The Grade II listed building was rescued from disuse and decay with the help of a CAP grant in 1997. Following the extensive repair, Bar Luga has established itself on the ground floor and fully let offices are located on the remaining four floors. h

The Gate

Land Securities developed a new 19,235 m² retail and leisure complex which opened in 2002. The Gate is a covered multi-level centre with a glass façade, housing a twelve screen
multiplex cinema, a sky bar with views over the city, a variety of restaurants, and a fitness centre.

Other achievements

Other achievements of the regeneration of Grainger Town include:
* 1506 jobs created as well as a further 800 in Grainger Town due to the increased confidence in the area.
* 286 new businesses set up.
* 80,900 m² of new and/or improved commercial floorspace.
* 121 buildings, many of them listed properties and classified as 'Buildings at Risk' restored for use.
* Grey's Monument repaired and cleaned.
* 289 flats and apartments completed with many located within the Grainger Street and Clayton Street areas.
* Westgate House, which was an eleven storey office block, perhaps Newcastle’s most unpopular building, was acquired by ONE North East and demolished between late 2006 and early 2007.

Sources

* [http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/grainger.nsf Newcastle City Council/Grainger Town]
* [http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=87&aspectid=7 Document on Grainger Town]
* [http://www.commissionsnorth.org/showcase/portfolio/56 Document on the Grainger Town project]
* [http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/hes.nsf/a/herher2?opendocument Newcastle City Councils info on Grainger Town project]