At the same time as The Malings was announced as the supreme winner at the prestigious Housing Design Awards judges from the Academy of Urbanism were visiting the same area of the city after it was nominated for yet another prestigious award.
The Urbanism Awards are the primary platform for recognising the best, most enduring or most improved urban environments. With five categories, including European City of the Year and Great Town, the awards celebrate and learn from great placemaking on different scales.
Ouseburn Valley has been shortlisted for the “Great Neighbourhood” award and is the only one of the final three finalists located in the North of England. While the winner won’t be announced until November to get to this stage Newcastle has already beaten off stiff competition from neighbourhoods in cities such as Aberdeen, Dublin, Manchester and London.
In 2010 Grey Street won the “Great Street” award and hopefully the judges will have been just as impressed with the ongoing regeneration of Ouseburn Valley. The places they visited included the Toffee Factory, the Ouseburn Farm, Victoria Tunnel and of course the multi-award winning Malings all of which demonstrate why Ouseburn Valley was last year named one of the 10 most fashionable places to live in the UK.
Councillor Jane Streather, Cabinet Member for Housing and Public Health said “Not long ago Ouseburn was seen as an industrial area that was in decline. But thanks to a partnership between the council, the Homes and Communities Agency, developers and, most importantly, the people who live and work in the area, the Valley is now home to creative industries, many small firms, top visitor attractions and quality sustainable housing. No wonder it is becoming one of the most popular places to live in our wonderful city.”