Welcome to Castle Ward website. We hope you find it useful.
The Castle Ward includes Brunswick, Dinnington, Hazlerigg, Kingston Park and all of the properties on the Newcastle Great Park west of the A1 except those in Woolsington Ward which include; 2 to 49 Rosebrough Road, 7 to 23 Shoreswood Way, 1 to 9 Hepburn and 2 to 26 Carling Walk.
Every neighbourhood in Newcastle will be brought up to a decent standard under a new set of proposals by the city council.
The council, with residents, wants to create its own Decent Neighbourhoods Standard to ensure consistently good services in each of the city’s 26 wards, with services such as street cleaning, graffiti removal and bin collection being constantly monitored and improved.
Residents who would like to make their views known should visit http://www.letstalknewcastle.co.uk/consultations/index/13 and take part in an online survey.
Gateshead and Newcastle Councils are currently out for consultation on two draft strategic planning documents. These are the joint One Core Strategy and Urban Core Area Action Plan.
The One Core Strategy sets out the vision, strategic objectives and key policies relating to economy, retail, environment, transport, health, sustainable communities (including new housing provision) and climate change for delivering future development across Gateshead and Newcastle until 2030.
In addition the Urban Core Area Action Plan (UCAAP) will set out the spatial strategy for the future of the urban core of NewcastleGateshead and its function at the heart of the city region. This will be a twenty year strategy for change.
The consultation runs from 4 October to 4th January during this time the Council will be hosting a series of Let’s Talk drop in sessions across the city to provide residents with an opportunity to ask officers questions. A full list of the sessions can be found here. (Pdf 510.12kb) Further details on both plans can be found here along with instructions on how to make comments on the plans. You can also find out more information from the Castle factsheet (Pdf 767.25kb)
This report (pdf 2MB) highlights short, medium and long term traffic management and highways schemes in the ward as well as information on road traffic accidents and utilities work.
The work listed will be subject to further discussions with Members and will form the basis of the monthly Ward Report that is sent out to Elected Members. If you have any questions or comments you can email the Ward Co-ordinator come to the Castle Ward Committee or contact your local Councillors
Castle Ward Councillors and city council officers are working with Hazlerigg Action Group to develop a new play facility beside the Memorial Hall in Hazlerigg. The plans were displayed at the Memorial Hall on 13th January 2011 for all members of the community to see. Fundraising is now taking place.
Following on from the successful bid by Havannah, Horton and Brenkely Tenants and Residents Association for the multi use games area in Dinnington, they will be working with Castle Councillors and officers to fundraise to improve the park on the recreation ground.
Dinnington Village Hall committee have exciting plans to refurbish and extend the village hall. They are starting to raise funds to carry out this work.
Kingston Park community centre has just undergone more refurbishment work. They have enhanced their play facilities by building a covered in outside play area, there is a new meeting room and facilities have been improved so that the building can be accessed by all. The community association are now expanding their programme.
We have developed plans for new community facilities on the Newcastle Great Park. A community facilities panel and young people's panel made up of Newcastle Great Park residents helped make sure the facilities meet the needs of the community. On the site there will be a community building, full size football pitch, five a side football pitch and double multi use games area.
Use our online map to find your nearest libraries and schools. You can also find out where your nearest recycling site is and find leisure services, such as swimming pools, and heritage information, such as listed buildings and ancient monuments.
Castle Ward includes the historic settlements of Brunswick, Hazlerigg, Dinnington, Mason and Brenkley, and the more modern developments of Kingston Park, Airport Industrial Estate, and Newcastle Great Park. It also features large areas of open space, including farmland and Prestwick Carr (a Site of Special Scientific Interest).
The ward has a long history, with evidence of Stone Age settlements at Foxcovert and Brenkley, Bronze Age activity in Dinnington, and Iron Age settlements around Dinnington, Brenkley, East and West Brunton and Hazlerigg. Settlement is thought to have been largely on the edges of the Carr, which was then a large lake. Evidence of Roman activity in the area has been found in the form of a hoard of bronze vessels in the marshland of the Carr.
In the Middle Ages there were a number of settlements in the area, some of which are the basis of existing settlements, although no buildings remain from this time. In the 12th and 13th centuries Dinnington, Mason, Brenkley, East Brunton and West Brunton were all small villages, which were held by a number of baronies including Bolam and Mitford. Brunton Bridge is thought to originate from a medieval crossing over the Ouseburn on the Ponteland Road. Mason was abandoned as early as the 14th century, while West Brunton survived until around 1730. In addition to documentary evidence of the villages, a large amount of medieval pottery has been found in the vicinity of East Brunton village. East and West Brunton later became the property of the Heselrigg family, from which derives the modern place name of Hazlerigg.
There is little documented evidence relating to the period between the Middle Ages and the 18th century, but the area is presumed to have been predominantly agricultural, with some evidence of “bell pit” coal mining. Prestwick Carr was drained around this time, and enclosed for use as farmland.
During the 18th century the area became increasingly industrial with the opening of a series of coal mines, the first being Dinnington Colliery, which opened in 1715. Inevitably with the opening of the mines came waggonways and brickworks (using the clay by-product of digging the seams), and an increased working population. Agriculture remained important: surviving buildings from the 18th century include Mason Farmhouse (which is thought to be the last remaining evidence of Mason village), Brenkley North Farm and West Brunton Farm, all of which are listed buildings.
During the 19th century, moving into the Victorian period, more collieries opened in the area, including the New Dinnington and Hazlerigg collieries; this led to a greatly increased local working population and the expansion of existing settlements. Dinnington Colliery Village was built in the late 1800s: designed to model village standards, some of the original terraces remain today.
If you have any more historical information about Castle Ward or old photographs please contact Sue Wannop on 0191 277 3536 or email sue.wannop@newcastle.gov.uk
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