The city’s leaders believe momentum is building, thanks to a cultural wave that has seen Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup win spark scenes of jubilation, the successful hosting of the MOBO Awards, and major music investment from Warner Music, which plans to open a “world-class” recording studio in the city.
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00:00Newcastle City's leadership is aiming to recreate the scale of regeneration seen during the transformation of the Quayside in the 1990s and 2000s, but this time across the entire city.
00:13We've been shy burns a bit in shouting about the assets we have got, said Pam Smith, who joined Newcastle City Council from Greater Manchester in 2022.
00:22There is a real heart and a magic to the city you only find out when you come here.
00:28Leader of Newcastle City Council Karen Kilgower admitted that Newcastle had been far too reticent in publicising itself over recent years and lagged a little behind the likes of Manchester.
00:40Calling Newcastle the Goldilocks City, just right for everyone, Smith praised its blend of stunning architecture, affordability and access to the coast and countryside, all wrapped up with the famously friendly Geordie welcome.
00:54The city's leaders believe momentum is building thanks to a cultural wave that has seen Newcastle United's Carabao Cup win spark scenes of jubilation, the successful hosting of the mobile awards and major music investment from Warner Music, which plans to open a world-class recording studio in the city.
01:12Everything is coming together at the right time, said Councillor Kilgower. Manchester is very good at shouting about how good Manchester is. Newcastle is better and we need to tell everybody that.
01:24Plans for the future include a push to revitalise quaysides like Quayside West, but Councillor Kilgower stressed the importance of keeping Newcastle's identity intact.
01:36I don't want Newcastle to become Manchester, she said. It doesn't need to be like anywhere else. It's about being the very best Newcastle we can be.
01:48She added that while changes to the city's skyline is inevitable as it evolves with the economy and population, the goal is not to chase a London-style high-rise boom, but to preserve and celebrate the quirky neighbourhoods that gives Newcastle its character, citing areas like Heaton and Ouseburn.
02:04But what does some of you think the city is lacking in? What does Newcastle need to make it a better place for us all?
02:14Good question. Actually, it's a hard question. Like I say, I haven't lived in Newcastle for a long time, but I definitely think the transport system and everything needs to be changed, a major overhaul.
02:24Obviously with the issues we've had with the bridges and the roads, there needs to be a major overhaul.
02:28Just to get more people in so there's not issues with people travelling every day, so that's the main thing I would say.
02:33You'll find something on somewhere every night, whatever you want to do. And it's true, it is a very lively place.
02:43We live further along the Quayside here. We've got live theatre, five minutes walk away from where we are.
02:49Partly brilliant because it's accessible. Instead of living in the suburbs of London where everything was more expensive and you had to go into the centre of London to do it.