North East tour showcases regeneration opportunities and challenges 

Members from across the North East came together for the first Renew Regeneration Site Tour. This was hosted by the North East Housing Partnership, offering a valuable opportunity to see how housing-led regeneration is transforming communities while also highlighting delivery challenges. 

At Cleadon Park in South Shields, the visit demonstrated the long-term impact of sustained investment and strong partnership working. Once one of the most deprived areas in the country, the estate has been transformed by replacing more than 500 outdated homes with around 750 new properties.  A strong focus on community engagement has been central to this success, helping to improve wellbeing, opportunity and pride in the area.  

We also heard about plans for regeneration in Felling, to make sure the right homes are in place to complement other improvements to the town centre, including through Pride in Place funding. However, scheme viability is proving challenging, making it difficult to get much-needed new homes off the ground. 

The final visits to Bensham and Saltwell showed how innovative partnerships are unlocking development, with new, high-quality homes bringing long-vacant sites back into use and supporting more inclusive, sustainable communities. Development of social housing, including homes specifically tailored for the area’s orthodox Jewish community, have acted as a catalyst for development of further new homes for private sale, which are in high demand. This shows the economic and social value of replacing homes that no longer meet the needs of communities. 

Overall, the tour reinforced that housing-led regeneration can deliver lasting change, but greater support and investment will be critical to unlocking its full potential. We are conducting more tours across the North.