An award-winning community bakery in the North East has been chosen to lead a pilot project that aims to revive high streets.
Big River Bakery has been awarded around £400,000 over the next three years to lead a project that will aim to regenerate the Byker area of Newcastle. It is part of a £2.5m scheme funded by the National Lottery Community Fund that aims to bring empty units back into use.
Working with and the North East Combined Authority, Big River Bakery wants to bring communities together to secure long-term spaces for the activities and services needed in the area. The ‘Stottie Power’ project aims to build on the successful work done in Big River’s Shieldfield bakery, which has won a number of awards as well as praise from TV chefs the Hairy Bikers.
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Founder Andy Haddon said: “In neighbourhoods like Byker, there are plenty of empty buildings crying out to be restored and revived – while lots of community leaders and organisations need spaces but can’t get into them.
“This pilot gets us working together and organised, so we can create a network of interconnected high street hubs for local food, arts, start-up businesses, community events, and more.”
The project will use the local property partnership approach, where community leaders and local businesses work together with
councils, funders and private assets owners to unlock town centre buildings for local needs.
The scheme has been backed by North East mayor Kim McGuinness, who said: “Local people and local businesses often know what’s best for their communities and high streets, when it comes to bringing buildings back to life, winning back shoppers and creating places to be proud of.
“I have made reviving our high streets one of my priorities because I know that’s about more than just the local economy – they should be home to community hubs and a focal-points for families and older people alike. As such I welcome this fantastic opportunity for people in Byker and the wider east end of Newcastle.”
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And Michelle Percy, director of investment and growth at Newcastle City Council, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to build on the work of the council’s Newcastle East High Streets Project which started in 2022 and has so far brought six empty properties back in to use in the east end of the city. We look forward to working with national and local partners to establish a Local Property Partnership in Byker to further unlock spaces that better serve the needs of the local community and contribute to the wider transformation of the area.”
Big River Bakery was established in 2013 and employs a workforce of 17 where more than a quarter are supported in employment. As well as providing employment, the social enterprise aims to provide affordable food in an area of deprivation.
As well as its original site in Shieldfield, the bakery has been exploring the possibility of opening sites in the east end and the west end of Newcastle.