This is Ouseburn or Ouseburn valley as many people will know it. What was once known as the cradle of the industrial revolution the Ouseburn valley is now Newcastles cultural centre with bars, printmakers, breweries and so much more.
For nearly 50 years Ouseburn has evolved and gone through a lot of regeneration. The Ouseburn Trust alongside the council, and volunteers are always looking for ways to keep Ouseburn the thriving place that it currently is.
The area has changed so much but will there come a time when Ouseburn can no longer be classed as up and coming and just stay as it is?
For nearly 50 years Ouseburn has evolved and gone through a lot of regeneration. The Ouseburn Trust alongside the council, and volunteers are always looking for ways to keep Ouseburn the thriving place that it currently is.
The area has changed so much but will there come a time when Ouseburn can no longer be classed as up and coming and just stay as it is?
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00:00 This is Ouseburn or Ouseburn Valley as many people know it.
00:04 But Ouseburn hasn't always looked like this and through the years it has been through a lot of regeneration.
00:10 What was once known as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, the Ouseburn Valley is now Newcastle's cultural centre with bars, printmakers, breweries and so much more.
00:21 Well Newcastle's quite famous for its ship building and armouries industries back in Armstrong's era so we're going right back to the early 1600s when there was glass making plants, bottle works, flax mills, lead works, all sorts of different industries along the side of the Ouseburn River, long before the industry that Newcastle's known for really.
00:42 For nearly 50 years Ouseburn has evolved and gone through a lot of regeneration. The Ouseburn Trust alongside the council and volunteers are always looking for ways to keep Ouseburn the thriving place that it currently is.
00:55 I think it's a pattern that we see all over the world really in terms of the development of post-industrial sites. I think they end up becoming quite run down, that tends to attract people to cheap rents so artists, musicians move in, recording spaces and artists workshops.
01:14 That then makes the place trendy because it's a cool place to be, it's got that vibe so then more and more people want to be there to run businesses there because it's a good kind of postcode to have as a business but also people want to visit and they want to enjoy the art and that music and be part of that cultural experience.
01:31 So it just kind of goes from one step to another and then of course it becomes a really nice place to be so people think well can we live there, can we live and work there so it all starts to evolve into a much more of a mixed use kind of place.
01:45 Ouseburn has become very popular with younger people with the new housing developments and very stylish places to eat and drink. But many people who have lived in Newcastle their whole life and seen Ouseburn change have a lot of memories linked to the place.
01:58 So I've just spoken to a woman who said that her dad learned how to swim in the valley back in the day and looking down at that small body of water now really makes you think how different things were back in those days.
02:09 The area has changed so much but will there become a time when Ouseburn can no longer be classed as an up and coming area and just stay as it is?
02:18 I think it depends who you talk to. There are people that are concerned by any more redevelopment, that it might threaten the character of the place and we tend to think of the character not just defined by the buildings that are here but by how people use those buildings, how they use the green spaces, how they spend their leisure time here.
02:37 So there's probably lots more opportunity for more development but is that what we want and is that going to change it for the worse or is it going to make it better?
02:47 I think for us at the Trust we're just keen that whatever does happen is a mix of uses so it's not all housing, it's not all commercial, it's a real mix which is what creates a vibrant community that people want to spend time in.