Summer? II

Some further images of Battlefield in Summer(?) ...

First, some Common Adenostyles, obviously a garden escape.

Next a lovely Grey Poplar, Populus x canescens. 

A view of the combined cycle way and footpath. It wends through the overhanging trees which I can remember as 'stick' plantings back in the mid 1970s.

The old paint factory site subject now of a planning application. At least the plants and birds have it to themselves for the moment.

Cyclone fencing around the site, 'gravel' invaded by plants.

It seems less and less likely that the scheme to erect eight tower blocks for 500 plus dwellings will go ahead due to the "credit crunch" and the economic outlook impinging on developers profit margins.

This is the quiet time for Battlefield, despite the summer holidays and the schools being closed. When students return in mid to late September the cycle path will be busy with pedestrians and cyclists hurrying between the Universities of Newcastle and Northumbria and the student digs spread across the suburb of Heaton.

A post on my thoughts on the architecture and possibilities for future sympathetic development of the Battlefield area and neighbouring Lower Ouseburn will appear shortly. 

Summer?

Some photographs of Battlefield taken recently.

Rain seems to suit the trees which are groaning under growths of foliage.

Progress on the new Ouseburn Community Centre has been swift.

Rain over Battlefield. The sun breaks through now and then so it has been an up and down summer here.

But will it ever happen?

Potential?

This photograph was taken earlier in 2008.

The site remains untouched by shovel or pick in August.

Realistic prospect or speculative investment?

The signs have been up for some while. Ambitious plans to build "environmental offices" over part of a former car showroom adjacent to the Battlefield alias City Stadium open space do not seem to be progressing at time of this posting.

Each day there is more gloom from the property front. Costs too are rising. Against this background of financial uncertainty the decisions investors make (or have made) will need revision.

While some would say it is already over supplied with empty offices, some brand new, others old, redundant and in need of modernisation, Newcastle needs still more office space apparently.

But will it ever happen?