Dwellbeing Shieldfield Launches Strategic Plan
In this blog post planner and Shieling Working Group member Sophie Stanton reflects on the launch of Shieldfield: A Strategic Plan, which outlines community priorities for public space changes in the neighbourhood. This is reblogged from the website of Ethical Partnership where Sophie is a planner. Ethical Partnership is an award-winning Chartered Planning Consultancy based in Shieldfield who strive to deliver schemes for the betterment of local economic, social, and environmental outcomes.
Shieldfield Aerial
The Shieldfield Strategic Plan was launched on the 23rd of August, hosted at Shieldfield Art Works (SAW) in the presence of residents, working professionals, Newcastle City Council representatives, creators and fellow Dwellbeing volunteers. The strategy has been entirely community-led through various workshops, events and festivals organised by Dwellbeing to understand the issues existing in Shieldfield and how a neighbourhood strategy can reflect what the community need.
Shieldfield residents have expressed both anger and grief towards the rapid pace of development in the area, whereby they have felt excluded from policy making and decisions which have had a significant impact on the neighbourhood. There has been a demand for a coherent strategy which puts the needs of the community at its core and learns from previous planning-related ‘mistakes’ by involving residents from the beginning and throughout to guide the future of Shieldfield.
Nevertheless, issues remain as development continues, and the Strategy has been tailored to resolve the following key issues:
A neglected urban environment and dilapidated spaces and facilities
Ongoing social pressures due to austerity policies and the cost of living and energy crisis
Lack of suitable space for residents to play, exercise and socialise, resulting in social isolation and loneliness
Fear of future developments displacing existing residents
A landscape which fails to reflect the diversity of cultures in Shieldfield
High levels of car use and parking by non-residents
Social pressures stemming from purpose built student accommodation (PBSA)
Car Free Day on Napier Street in September 2021
Proposals for Change
Through conversations and engagement activities with the community, priorities were established:
To reduce traffic and pollution in Shieldfield
To improve and provide more spaces for community interaction, particularly multigenerational spaces
To improve play spaces for a wider range of ages
To address the barriers to accessing Shieldfield’s amenities and public spaces for older people and those with accessibility needs
To give the Shieldfield community agency in decisions about the future of the area
Such priorities have guided the Strategic Plan to address four key themes:
Environment, ecology and green spaces
Community and local economy
Housing
Services, transport and infrastructure.
““Volunteering as a Planner within Dwellbeing to assist in the development of the Strategic Plan for Shieldfield has been a truly enriching experience. I have engaged with community and made connections with fellow volunteers which has truly rounded my knowledge. Community-led planning has been a strong passion of mine, and when I reached out to Dwellbeing to get involved I was thrilled.
It has been a fantastic journey to see how the community have actively engaged with the group and activities we have hosted to develop and understanding of issues and requirements to then reflect in the form of a strategy. Hard work and dedication have gone into the preparation of this document and following the launch of the plan I feel the community truly feel reflected.
I am eager to see this strategy being taken serious within Newcastle planning policies, so that the community of Shieldfield can get the reassurance they need that they are being heard and they will be supported. The document has the evidence and suggestions needed, now we need to see this implemented.””
““Throughout the event, the spatial strategy and its development were discussed with members of the community as well as councillors and those responsible for researching and curating the strategy from the beginning. Members of Dwellbeing Shieldfield and those within HarperPerry Architects explained and detailed the proposal to the people attending the event and then allowed everyone to discuss what they thought the strategy achieved and what could be done to improve it. These break out groups were effective in bringing together different stakeholders who may not have otherwise been able to share opinions with one another.””
Particular thanks to Dwellbeing Shieldfield Shieling trainees: Amin Goodarzi and Mahamat Younis; Clare Vaughan; Members of the Shieling Working Group: Ikbal Berk, Ahmed Hasan, Kaltouma Hassaballah, Lydia Hiorns, Maria Hussaini, Helen Lunn; Dwellbeing Shieldfield staff: Sarah Bird, Edyta Czarnecka, Julia Heslop, Kate Jeffries, Ken Mallon, Hannah Marsden; Young people from Shieldfield Youth Programme; Sara Cooper and all Shieldfield residents and workers that have contributed to workshops and events.