Newcastle city councillors claim city must become North East ‘capital’

It comes as the council’s cabinet approved an ambitious new plan they say will help the city overtake the likes of Manchester and Liverpool.

The new ‘city plan’ includes a proposals to boost the city’s economy amid fears it is falling behind rival cities across the country.

Also planned is a major expansion of council housing to help deal with a North East-wide homelessness crisis is also high on the agenda, with a recent report finding that 43,000 households across the region are either homeless or living in unsuitable accommodation.

Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the cabinet, portfolio holder for the economy Coun Owen Burbidge said: “If Newcastle does well regionally, the rest of the region will benefit. We’re unashamedly trying to be the regional capital for the north east and that will give us the opportunity for the whole region to prosper.

“This plan gives us the opportunity to articulate what Newcastle is, to articulate to our residents how we will build the Newcastle that gives them opportunities and improves their communities, while helping us to reduce the inequalities we’re seeing between different communities. It’s a really important starting point, but it’s not the end of that journey.

“It’s an opportunity to make Newcastle a place people chose to invest in. hopefully we will see investment trickling down and residents will feel the benefit of that.”

The likes of Manchester as well as Liverpool, Leeds, and Sheffield are said to have been growing economically at faster rates than Newcastle. The plan also includes promises to put more investment into youth services, reduce anti-social behaviour, and strengthen support for small businesses.

The previous Labour administration failed to garner enough support for its own council plan last year. The Liberal Democrats came to power under a minority administration at the council after May’s local elections, and as such other parties have had an input on the proposals.

Green Party leader Coun Nick Hartley, who sits on the cabinet as an observer, said: “Not only has this been cross-party, it has the voice of residents. That is why we have got a plan we can all get behind.

“This has been such a success of cross-party communications. Putting city ahead of party starts to change the way people engage with the council.

“Cross-party working has brought the best of us across the chamber and it has brought councillors together. All political parties have had the opportunity to shape this and all parties in the chamber have something to point to as a result.”

The cabinet unanimously agreed to endorse the plan. It will now need to be approved by the city council as a whole to be put in place.

Deputy leader of the council Coun Mark Mitchell added: “This is only the first of three actions. This is the plan – there is them delivery of the plan, which will be coming fairly soon, and how we actively report to the council and to residents, so they know this is not just a document that goes to the printers and then sits on a shelf, but is something that sets how the council operates day by day, week by week.”