A prime brownfield site on the banks of the River Tyne has received a £5 million funding boost from the North East Mayor.

The Forth Yards site, located close to the Utilita Arena in the west of the city, has been blighted by viability challenges, access constraints and infrastructure requirements that have prevented the private sector from bringing forward a scheme.

However, the site of the former Elswick Leadworks has been earmarked for development for years and the North East Combined Authority (NECA),  Newcastle City Council, Network Rail and Homes England have been working collaboratively to drive forward the project.

At Tuesday’s meeting of NECA’s cabinet, Mayor Kim McGuinness and her cabinet agreed a £5m investment in the site. The cash boost will allow reparation work on the site to begin and, once complete, the area will deliver thousands of homes, office and commercial space, education and health facilities, and community spaces.

Speaking at the meeting, cabinet member for housing Norma Redfearn explained the importance of housing in the region.

She said: “There is a great need for houses because it hasn’t been top of the agenda for some time, particularly social housing.

“For anyone, one of the most important things is to have a roof over their heads. We also have to provide houses for businesses and their staff.”

The project includes early plans to create a Newcastle “highline” – an ambitious project to create a “high quality” pedestrian and cycleway on a 1.6lm stretch of railway viaduct, that would connect the site to the central station.

Mayor McGuiness added: “There are 66,000 people on social housing lists across the region. We have a desperate need for good quality homes.

“We want to build the green homes of the future.  I’ve made housing a central pledge of my term in office.

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“We will build homes local people need and create places with shops, green spaces and transport links – not just vast estates where people can’t access the services they need.  Forth Yards will create a gateway that’s fitting for our great city.

“As Mayor I will not sit back and let scrub land sit idle when our towns and cities are crying out for a new lease of life.  I will drive forward the transformation our region needs – so we go from brownfield to beautiful; from empty to thriving; and create communities where people flourish.“