Newcastle development: the biggest projects in the city

Beside the Tyne, former railway land could become a new neighbourhood with up to 2,500 homes. It's one of the largest Newcastle development projects, but far from the only part of the city changing.

At Northumbria University, the North East Space Skills and Technology Centre is taking shape. The former Newcastle General Hospital site is being turned into a neighbourhood of homes, health facilities and research laboratories. On Pilgrim Street, new offices are being prepared for HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions, while Castle Leazes is being rebuilt with accommodation for more than 2,000 students.

Some of these projects are already changing the city. Others will take years to complete. In October 2026, a draft 25-year plan for Newcastle and Gateshead proposed more than 16,000 new homes across the two city centres and riverside by 2050.

Here are eight live schemes in Newcastle City Council's area, each worth £100m or more, listed by value. Most figures estimate the value of the finished development, not money already spent.

1. Forth Yards, £950m
2. City Gateway East, £500m
3. Health Innovation Neighbourhood, £500m
4. Pilgrim Street, £500m
5. Newcastle Helix, £450m
6. The Rise, Scotswood, £265m
7. Castle Leazes, £250m
8. Founders Place, £137m

Forth Yards, Newcastle city centre

What's being built: Up to 2,500 homes, commercial space, parks and new walking and cycling routes.

Value: £950m estimated gross development value for the whole site.

Who's behind it: Homes England, Newcastle City Council, Network Rail and other landowners.

Status: Government funding approved; developer selection and planning work progressing.

Forth Yards occupies former industrial land between Newcastle Central Station and the River Tyne. By estimated value it is the biggest development in Newcastle. The long-term plan is to create a new neighbourhood with homes, workplaces and public spaces, reconnecting land that has remained largely unused for decades.

The government approved £121.8m in August 2025 to prepare land at Quayside West for construction, including groundworks and infrastructure.

Homes England is looking for a developer to deliver its part of the site. Separately, Network Rail's development partners have submitted plans for Forth Goods Yard, including housing and a new public route towards Central Station. These are separate parts of the wider programme, progressing on different timetables.

What happens next: Homes England is due to choose a developer for Quayside West. It had aimed to decide by the end of October 2026.

Read our detailed analysis of Forth Yards.

City Gateway East, Northumbria University

What's being built: Space research facilities, teaching laboratories, university buildings and future commercial development sites.

Value: £500m estimated gross development value for the wider programme, of which the £50m space centre is under way.

Who's behind it: Northumbria University, working with public and commercial partners.

Status: First major research building under development; further phases being prepared.

City Gateway East is Northumbria University's long-term programme to expand its city-centre campus and create additional research and commercial facilities.

Its first major project is the North East Space Skills and Technology Centre, being developed with the UK Space Agency and Lockheed Martin. The building reached its full height in April 2026 and is intended to provide specialist research facilities and space-sector training.

The university also plans new laboratories and teaching facilities around the existing Lipman building. Further land is being prepared for potential developments involving research organisations and commercial partners. Those later elements still depend on investment and individual development decisions.

Health Innovation Neighbourhood, Newcastle West End

What's being built: Up to 1,250 homes, research facilities, healthcare buildings, workplaces and green spaces.

Value: £500m gross development value for the proposed neighbourhood.

Who's behind it: Newcastle University and Genr8 Kajima Regeneration.

Status: Demolition and initial site preparation completed; first research-building application withdrawn.

The former Newcastle General Hospital site is being redeveloped as a neighbourhood combining homes, healthcare, research and commercial activity.

Newcastle University wants the development to become a place where researchers, businesses and residents can work together on improving health and supporting an ageing population. The plans combine university and healthcare facilities with different types of housing, community buildings and public spaces.

Plans for the wider masterplan were approved in principle in April 2024, but formal permission has not yet been issued. Demolition of the old hospital buildings has since been completed. An earlier application for the first research building was withdrawn, so the timetable for the first new buildings is not yet settled.

What happens next: Newcastle University and its development partner need to bring forward the first building proposals and secure the funding needed to construct them.

Pilgrim Street, Newcastle city centre

What's being built: Grade A offices, government workplaces, hotels, leisure facilities and public spaces.

Value: £500m gross development value for the wider development, including buildings already completed.

Who's behind it: Taras Properties and Reuben Brothers.

Status: Several buildings completed and occupied; remaining offices under construction.

Pilgrim Street is becoming a substantial new commercial district on the eastern side of Newcastle city centre, and is further along than most Newcastle development projects on this list.

The development has already delivered Bank House, now occupied by commercial tenants, alongside the restoration of historic buildings for Hotel Gotham and STACK Newcastle. Pilgrim's Quarter, the new regional office for HM Revenue and Customs, has reached practical completion and is undergoing internal work before occupation.

Construction is continuing at Pilgrim Place, where the Department for Work and Pensions has agreed to occupy one of the new office buildings. Another is being marketed to private-sector tenants.

What happens next: The Pilgrim Place offices are expected to be ready in April 2027, with government departments moving into the new accommodation in stages.

Read our analysis of how Pilgrim Street became Newcastle's new commercial district.

Newcastle Helix, Newcastle city centre

What's being built: Research buildings, offices, laboratories, up to 750 homes, a hotel and public spaces.

Value: £450m gross development value for the wider site, including buildings already completed.

Who's behind it: Newcastle City Council, Newcastle University and Legal & General.

Status: Main research and commercial buildings completed; residential and other development phases progressing.

Newcastle Helix occupies the former Scottish & Newcastle Brewery site near St James' Park. It has developed into a district combining university research with commercial offices, technology businesses and shared facilities.

The site already contains buildings including The Catalyst, The Core, The Lumen and The Spark. It also has its own energy centre, which supplies heating and cooling to buildings across the development.

Further plans include housing, additional research and commercial space and a hotel. The hotel has secured planning permission, while the residential developer, igloo, is working on proposals for new homes.

The Rise, Scotswood

What's being built: Around 1,700 homes, community facilities, public spaces and supporting infrastructure.

Value: £265m for the whole redevelopment programme, over about 18 years.

Who's behind it: New Tyne West Development Company, a partnership between Newcastle City Council and Keepmoat.

Status: Homes delivered and occupied; further housing phases approved.

The Rise is the redevelopment of a large former housing area in Scotswood, west of Newcastle city centre.

Work began in 2013, replacing cleared streets with a new residential neighbourhood. The development includes homes for sale and affordable housing, alongside improved infrastructure, public spaces and facilities intended to support the growing community. Public money has supported the groundworks needed to make the former hillside site suitable for building.

More than 600 homes had been delivered by the time Keepmoat published its 2025 account of the project. Construction has continued in phases, with Newcastle City Council granting permission in July 2025 for another major section of housing and associated infrastructure.

Castle Leazes, Newcastle University

What's being built: Student accommodation with 2,009 beds, shared study and social facilities, courtyards and landscaped spaces.

Value: About £250m total development cost.

Who's behind it: Newcastle University and Unite Students.

Status: Planning approved, joint venture established and construction under way.

Newcastle University's former Castle Leazes halls are being replaced by purpose-built student accommodation beside Leazes Moor.

The old accommodation blocks, originally built in the 1960s, have been demolished to make way for new buildings with modern bedrooms, communal areas and landscaped courtyards.

The redevelopment is being delivered through a joint venture in which Unite Students owns 51 per cent and Newcastle University holds the remaining 49 per cent. Unite is responsible for developing and operating the accommodation.

Unlike some of the longer-term development projects in Newcastle, Castle Leazes has an established delivery partnership, planning permission and funding, with building work already progressing. The university reported in October 2026 that the first new building was nearing structural completion.

What happens next: Construction is continuing, with the first accommodation due to open for the 2028/29 academic year and the second phase scheduled for the following year.

Founders Place, Stephenson Quarter

What's being built: New offices, homes, public spaces and restored historic railway buildings.

Value: About £137m gross development value for the wider site, including the completed first building.

Who's behind it: Newcastle City Council and igloo Regeneration, with investment partners.

Status: First building restored and occupied; applications submitted for further phases.

Founders Place is the redevelopment of part of the former Stephenson locomotive works, immediately south of Newcastle Central Station.

Its first completed building is the Pattern Shop, which has been restored and converted into offices occupied by Atom Bank. The next projects include One Founders Place, a proposed office building overlooking a new public square, and Orchard Yard, a residential neighbourhood incorporating historic industrial buildings.

Planning applications for both projects were submitted during summer 2026. The developer is also considering options for restoring the former Coppersmiths Shop.

What happens next: Newcastle City Council must determine the planning applications for One Founders Place and Orchard Yard before those phases can proceed.

What to watch next in Newcastle development

Several of the projects have important decisions or openings ahead. Homes England is due to choose a developer for Quayside West at Forth Yards. The Pilgrim Place offices are expected to be ready in April 2027, while the first new student accommodation at Castle Leazes is due to open for the 2028/29 academic year. In the Stephenson Quarter, planning decisions on One Founders Place and Orchard Yard will determine what can be built next.

There are bigger plans beyond the eight schemes, too. Newcastle United has agreed to buy the Woolsington Hall estate for a proposed £190m training complex, with a planning application expected in early 2027.

Further north, Newcastle Great Park continues to grow. The long-running housing development, built by Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes, remains active but has no reliable published total value for comparison with the schemes above.

Across the river, Gateshead Quays is another substantial development site. It falls outside Newcastle City Council's boundary and is therefore covered separately.

How we chose these schemes

The list includes developments within Newcastle City Council's area worth £100m or more, where planning permission has been granted, funding committed or work has started on site.

Last updated: 31 October 2026