‘There’s no future in looking back’
FIRMS URGED TO EMBRACE ‘AMBITIOUS VISION’ FOR CITY CENTRE
This is a city steeped in history, but one which also sparkles with the energy of a bright future Coun Forbes
COUNCIL leader Nick Forbes has urged businesses to do more to make Newcastle a leading European city. Coun Forbes said Newcastle needed an “ambitious vision” and must work hard to maintain the momentum gained from winning the Great Exhibition of the North and other national events. He was speaking as city centre improvement district NE1 Ltd launched a bid for its work to be renewed, with businesses in the city centre voting later this year on whether they want to continue funding the organisation. NE1 outlined plans to do more work to capitalise on the Quayside waterfront, and also to improve areas around Central Station, Northumberland Street and the Bigg Market. The organisation has sent its plans to its 1,400 business members and will put together its final plan for the next five years later in the summer. Coun Forbes congratulated the body on its work to improve the city centre over the last decade but challenged it and its members to now go further.
He said: “Just standing still will not serve us; there is no future in looking back at past events and assuming those were enough to cement our reputation as a major visitor location. The council has a role to play here, and I don’t shirk that responsibility. Instead we demonstrate our commitment with projects such as East Pilgrim Street, a vital part in what will be the next chapter in the history of our city centre.
“This will require £500m investment and create 2,500 jobs – a success that will come as a result of private developers working closely with us. I have no doubt NE1 will be keen to match that level of ambition. We know the need to continue driving events and footfall, but now more than ever we need to be saying proudly that we are a major European capital and here is why.
“When we look at events such as the Great Exhibition or international rugby, it is clear that the opportunity is there. Many other UK cities simply do not have what we have, and we would be foolish to wait for them to catch up.
“We have great businesses in Newcastle, great ambassadors for our city, and now is the time to come together on a shared and ambitious vision for the city.
“I’m sure we would all agree that we need to be restless in the pursuit of progress and that the BID consultation needs to reflect that.
“Cities, especially their centres, should always be the most magnetic of places. They should be the physical sign of what type of people we are, and in Newcastle we see the reality of this in a creative, vibrant and welcoming city centre. This is a city steeped in history, but one which also sparkles with the energy of a bright future, and I look forward to seeing how NE1 will contribute to that.”
NE1 has made a number of city improvements in the last decade, including the Alive After Five free parking scheme, which has brought an estimated 13.7m more visitors into the city centre and boosted the economy by £839m. It also set up the Newcastle Marina, Restaurant Week and has this week kicked off a major regeneration of the Bigg Market.
NE1 chief executive Adrian Waddell said: “We can’t afford to rest on our laurels and we are committed to making sure that Newcastle strives to be the best it can be – we need to be relentless in the pursuit of improvements and opportunities, looking for ways the city can develop and attract investment and visitors.”