North Star, North East

Urban Pioneers - a new urban quarter for Middlesbrough
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What we did

Built nine new affordable rent live-work homes for local entrepreneurs, the first residential development in the ongoing regeneration of Middlehaven, the old dock quarter of Middlesbrough.

How we did it

The Middlehaven area of Middlesbrough, with its old transporter bridge, dock clock tower and Customs House, has been the subject of a successful regeneration programme in recent years. With many of the commercial buildings finding new uses, North Star were keen to contribute to the changing character of the area. They have created the Urban Pioneers zone, bringing in small scale residential development aimed at entrepreneurs keen to grow their business from home, or be able to work comfortably from home.

Critical to getting the scheme off the ground was the Homes and Communities Agency’s (HCA) £1million investment in remediation works to this former heavy industry land. Following their purchase of three plots, North Star continued to work in partnership with the HCA to ensure that the site was fully developable. North Star then worked with their architects and developers to design and build a scheme that responds to the area’s history and heritage, while maintaining an element of flexibility to cater for a variety of business uses.

The impact we’ve had

• Nine new low-cost live/work two bedroom houses and start up work spaces for local people
• Brought a vacant site back to life, establishing a new creative quarter and attracting new people to the area with a stake in its future
• With the HCA, made sure the land was fully developable, smoothing the way for other developers, including self-builders
• Contributed to the urban fabric, building homes of a striking contemporary design which responds to their siting on the edge of the Urban Park and winning design plaudits from the HCA and Middlesbrough Council