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Issue Date: 3 October 2006
BNG wants to get into minds of creative people
Where do creative people want to live and work ? That’s the question housing market renewal pathfinder, Bridging NewcastleGateshead (BNG) is asking in a bid to boost the number of ‘creative and cultural’ people living in Newcastle and Gateshead.
BNG, in conjunction with the Arts Council, One NorthEast and Newcastle and Gateshead councils, is appealing to people working in creative or cultural industries on Tyneside to help them with a study to identify what BNG and others can do to encourage creative people to live in the area.
A website – www.newcastlegatesheadculturalstudy.co.uk - has been set up with an electronic questionnaire, which creative people working in Gateshead and Newcastle are being asked to complete before 31 st October 2006.
The results from this questionnaire and other research will then be used to help BNG and its partners support the continuing growth of the creative and cultural sector in Newcastle and Gateshead.
Findings so far show that there are ‘creative hotspots’ for business and people including areas of Bensham and Saltwell in Gateshead and Byker, Ouseburn and Arthur’s Hill in Newcastle.
Karen Anderson, head of research and strategy at Bridging NewcastleGateshead, said: "It is already well recognised that cultural and creative industries have contributed significantly to the economic growth of Newcastle and Gateshead.
"Through this study we want to support this trend and identify the factors that make a neighbourhood attractive to the creative sector.
"By ensuring that we have the right housing in place to meet the needs and aspirations of creative people and businesses, we can hopefully continue to attract these people and companies to the area and create a place in which they can thrive."
The results of the full study are expected to be available later in the year. For more information contact Bridging NewcastleGateshead on (0191) 277 2666 or visit www.bridgingng.org.uk