Physical Distancing

In our last blog we shared how city transport planners are responding to COVID-19. In this blog we look at how people in Gosforth are using streets differently because of the pandemic and what Newcastle City Council could implement quickly in the short term to support that. Although our own movements are as restricted as everyone else, we have been able to use the on-line traffic cameras from the Urban Observatory to see how people are using streets in certain locations.T Read more [...]

How are city transport planners responding to COVID-19?

The Government and Council's initial response to COVID-19 has been, quite rightly, to ensure people are safe and well, protect jobs and critical services, and to minimise the spread of the virus. Already by mid-April 2020 the virus has killed thousands of people in the UK alone, and left unchecked would kill many many more. Read more [...]

Coronavirus – Shop Local Gosforth

From Monday 23 March, the UK Government ordered all non-essential businesses to close to reduce the further spread of coronavirus. While most people will agree this is necessary, the potential consequences for businesses are significant. This is true both for businesses that have to close and those that can remain open but have to adapt quickly to new hygiene requirements.  Read more [...]

Call for Evidence about climate change – January 2020

In April 2019 Newcastle City Council declared a Climate Emergency. This included a pledge to make Newcastle upon Tyne carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions. How to meet the target will be informed by the Council's call for evidence for how to tackle climate change. This blog sets out the SPACE for Gosforth response to that call for evidence. Read more [...]

Blackett Street

Newcastle City Council have proposed that Blackett Street and parts of New Bridge Street are made into a pedestrian area linking Northumberland Street, Monument and Old Eldon Square. This blog is our response to the Council's consultation. Read more [...]

General Election 2019

We have had a look at the political manifestoes for the forthcoming general election on Thursday 12 December to see what they say about walking and cycling. In recent years there has been remarkable political alignment from all parties about the need to prioritise and encourage walking and cycling. What has been largely lacking is a budget to go with it. Read more [...]

Gosforth Remembers 2019

Sunday 10 November 2019 was Remembrance Sunday. As is traditional, local cadets and scouts paraded down Gosforth High Street and into Gosforth Central Park for a short service and to observe a two-minute silence in memory of members of the armed forces that lost their lives in the two world wars and later conflicts.

The Remembrance Day Service in Gosforth Central Park offers an opportunity to reflect and mourn for the past, and it is also an opportunity to pause and to examine the present. Read more [...]

Exhaust fumes ‘killing babies’

"Up to a sixth of cot deaths may be directly attributable to pollutants from vehicle exhaust fumes, it was revealed yesterday" - news article from the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.

No one who reads this blog should be surprised that pollution can kill or that babies and children are among the worst affected. What might surprise you is that this news article is from 18 May 2004.

This was one of the earliest reports we found in the Evening Chronicle's electronic archive covering Air Pollution, Read more [...]