Forth Yards is Newcastle's last significant stretch of undeveloped waterfront, but that may be coming to an end. After years of planning, the barriers that kept developers away have been cleared and a development partner is now close to being named.

The 52-acre site is split between two owners. Homes England owns the larger, central section, known as Quayside West, which is going through the procurement process. Network Rail owns the smaller Forth Goods Yard, closer to the station, which is moving through planning on a separate timetable.

In this article we look at the current status of the procurement, what the site will eventually contain and the economics of building on Newcastle's waterfront.

Forth Yards is the last significant piece of undeveloped waterfront in Newcastle. It has sat largely derelict for years despite repeated attempts to develop it. The site runs along the River Tyne on the western edge of the city centre, next to Central Station and St James' Boulevard. These 52 acres are split between two owners.

Network Rail owns Forth Goods Yard, a former rail yard closer to the station. Homes England, the government's housing and regeneration agency, owns Quayside West, which is the larger and strategically central section it bought in 2024.

The ambition for the whole site is large: up to 2,500 new homes and more than 161,500 sq ft of commercial space, built out over roughly twenty years, with a long-term gross development value estimated at £950m.

Forth Yards was named as a priority scheme in the North East Devolution Deal, which is why the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority led by mayor Kim McGuinness, sits alongside Newcastle City Council, Network Rail and Homes England as part of the Forth Yards Public Sector Partnership.

Forth Yards' previous industrial and railway uses left the site with remediation, infrastructure and ownership costs that made development difficult to make viable at prevailing Newcastle values. Decades of contamination needed clearing, ownership was split across multiple parties and the cost of preparing the site for building was higher than what new homes could realistically recover in the local market. Officials describe this combination as a "viability challenge": the site didn't pay for itself without public support.

In August 2025 the government confirmed a funding package of £120m to remediate the land and put in the infrastructure a developer would otherwise have to fund itself. None of this money builds a single home. It is to remove the cost barrier that had kept private developers away.

The North East Combined Authority separately agreed £5m for site preparation works at Forth Yards in July 2024, as part of the region's trailblazer devolution deal, ahead of the main package. The authority is now called the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority.

Homes England is leading the procurement of a long-term development partner on behalf of the public sector partnership, with the property consultancy Avison Young appointed to run the search. The process has moved through several stages since early 2025:

The immediate scope being procured, referred to in the tender documents as "the Project", is narrower than the full 2,500-home ambition. It covers the redevelopment of Quayside West and the first phase of a New York-style urban park called the Highline, together valued at £330m, with contract dates estimated to run from January 2027 to the end of 2042. The wider £950m figure describes the potential of the whole Forth Yards site over the long term, not the value of what is being awarded this October.

Bidders are judged 65% on technical quality and 35% on commercial terms. The brief invites smaller and medium-sized developers, not just the national housebuilders, though bidders will need the scale and financial strength to deliver a scheme of this size.

Away from the main procurement, there has been separate movement on the Network Rail side of the site. Developers blocwork and Platform 4 unveiled plans for Forth Goods Yard in November 2025: 514 apartments across two blocks, a 650-space multi-storey car park, shops and green space, plus a park on a disused railway viaduct in a similar style to the wider site's planned Highline. A planning application followed a public consultation that closed later that month.

That is distinct from the Homes England procurement covering Quayside West, but is evidence that parts of the wider site are moving even while the main development partner search continues out of public view.

Competitive procurements are usually held privately between the contracting authority and the shortlisted bidders once a shortlist is set, which is why this stage of the Quayside West process has produced little public news since November 2025.

On 30 October 2026, Homes England expects to select a preferred bidder for Quayside West and Highline Phase 1. Once announced, we will discover the developer appointed, the delivery timelines and whether the scheme needs further public-sector financial support beyond the £120m already committed.

What is Forth Yards?
A 52-acre brownfield site on Newcastle's waterfront, next to Central Station, earmarked for up to 2,500 homes and commercial space over the next twenty years. It's the last major undeveloped stretch of the city's waterfront.

Who owns Forth Yards?
Ownership is split. Homes England owns Quayside West, the larger central parcel, bought in 2024. Network Rail owns Forth Goods Yard, the smaller parcel closer to the station.

How much public money has gone into Forth Yards?
£120m, confirmed by the government in August 2025, to remediate the contaminated land and put in infrastructure. That money doesn't build any homes but makes the site workable for whoever builds on it.

When will a developer be chosen for Forth Yards?
Homes England's own procurement notice gives an estimated award decision date of 30 October 2026, when a preferred bidder is expected to be selected for the first phase, Quayside West and Highline Phase 1.

How many homes will be built at Forth Yards?
Up to 2,500 over the long term across the whole site. The phase currently out to tender, Quayside West, covers around 1,100 of those.