Staiths South Bank

This project marked HemingwayDesign’s first venture into large-scale, housing-led development, and our willingness to challenge the prevailing “standard practices” of the time allowed us to push boundaries across multiple aspects of the scheme. We encouraged both the developer and the landowner, Gateshead Council, to rethink their approach—from embracing a contemporary, ‘European-inspired’ aesthetic to reimagining the design and layout.

A key part of this rethink was the adoption of a ‘Homezone’ philosophy, influencing decisions around traffic calming, adoption strategies, car parking, cycling infrastructure, refuse collection, and the integration of play and landscaping. Rather than defaulting to established norms, we set aside conventional standards and pursued a more progressive, people-centred approach.

The final result of that first meeting is Staiths South Bank, a 760-home development on the banks of River Tyne, Gateshead. The vision was a simple one: to create a development that offers choice. Choice of elevation and layout; choice in the mix of house types; and choice in the way that people live their lives.

Staiths South Bank is a neighbourhood designed so that every resident can easily recognise their own home—no two houses look the same. It is a place where children can play safely, free from the dominance of cars, and where private gardens open onto shared green spaces that naturally encourage neighbours to get to know one another.

Landscaped pedestrian corridors run throughout the development, prioritising imaginative play over vehicle movement. Play features are integrated directly into the streetscape, creating “Play Streets” where vehicle speeds are kept to around 5 mph. Shared communal courtyards offer semi-private garden areas for the surrounding homes, typically serving 20–25 dwellings. These spaces include communal barbecues—a feature whose social value has been highlighted in the Arts Council’s online publication The Power of the Barbeque. Incidental street furniture, from small seating areas to table-tennis tables were introduced along the pedestrian routes.

A carefully balanced combination of hard and soft landscaping supports innovative traffic-calming techniques. Standard adoption criteria were reassessed to reduce traffic speeds, streamline service distribution, and promote low car ownership across the site. Refuse collection policies were adapted so residents bring household waste to communal, screened collection points near landscaped courtyards. As a result, most internal streets do not need to accommodate large refuse vehicles and their associated turning requirements.

Sustainable movement is encouraged throughout the development. Pedestrian and cycle routes—including part of the National Cycle Network—run through the site, and bus services are available within a 400-metre walk, connecting residents to both Gateshead and Newcastle. Car ownership is limited to one space per household, supported by 25% visitor parking. This reduction in car dependency, combined with thoughtful spatial design, keeps vehicle speeds low and reinforces a pedestrian-first environment.

The project has won a number of national awards. Read The Staiths retrospective here, and see what the BBC had to say about it here.