Centenary of Newcastle Allotments

1917 – 2017 – a hundred years of allotments in Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne will be celebrating a centenary of allotments with special events on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 September 2017.

The Newcastle Allotment and Garden Fete 2017 will take place in Leazes Park celebrating 100 years of allotment growing 1917 – 2017

A weekend for friends and family, with market stalls, fresh produce, honey bee demonstrations, garden advice, family fun fair, children’s crafts and activities.

Saturday 23 September – staging

Staging will take place on Saturday 23 September between 10am – 4.30pm when exhibitors only will be allowed in the main marquee.

Sunday 24 September – open day

Following staging there will be an open day for members of the public on Sunday 24 September 11am -4pm.

Activities will, include family entertainment, children’s activities, music, face painting, a climbing wall and more, all taking place within the beautiful setting of Leazes Park, Newcastle’s oldest park, close to the city centre.

You can find out more details and enter the competitions – details are part of the Newcastle Allotments website.

High West Jesmond’s 3 allotments

High West Jesmond has three seperate allotment sites. You can find out their location and learn a little bit more following the link below:

Little Moor Allotments
Triangle Allotments
High West Jesmond Allotments

You can find more details about each of the allotments on our Allotments page within this website.

September 4, 2017September 17, 2017

Public meeting called on Communal Bins

The council are still planning to impose communal bins on the residents of High West Jesmond.

Public meeting with MP called to discuss residents concerns regarding Newcastle City Council’s plan to impose communal bins after 95% of High West Jesmond said they were AGAINST such plans

95% say NO to communal bins in poll

This is despite a recent poll conducted by our local councillors which indicated 95% OPPOSITION to the council’s plan.

Meeting to be attended by Catherine McKinnell MP – Mon 18 Sept

Communal bins rubbish on Osborne Avenue back lane – Newcastle upon Tyne

High West Jesmond Residents’ Association has arranged a public meeting, to be held on Monday 18 September at 19:00 at the Trinity Church on Gosforth High Street to discuss this matter. The meeting will be attended by our local MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North, Catherine McKinnell MP.

Prior to her re-election as our MP Catherine sent a message to local residents as follows:

“I know that the proposed roll-out of communal bins by the City Council is causing a good deal of concern amongst many High West Jesmond residents – and that’s why I have sought to represent these concerns to the Chief Executive, the relevant Cabinet Member and officers both formally in writing, and in meetings.

I am particularly keen to ensure that local residents are properly consulted before any such changes are introduced, and that the outcome of this consultation is taken into account when any final decisions are taken on this issue.

I do not want to see such changes simply imposed on local residents, and will therefore continue to press the City Council for meaningful consultation on this issue.”

The meeting on 18th September will be your opportunity to discuss directly with Catherine your thoughts and concerns about the council’s proposed actions.

At the meeting there will also be an update on the latest position regarding plans for the Blue House Roundabout, as well as the Associations’ Annual General Meeting and election of officers for 2017/18.

Nominations are welcomed for officers and committee members and should be sent to Fiona Bruce before Monday 11th September 2017.

We would be delighted to see as many local residents as possible attending this meeting. We anticipate the meeting lasting approximately 90 minutes.

Read more about the council’s proposal for communal bins and see some photographs from newcastle streets where communal bins have been introduced on our Communal bins page.

August 18, 2017September 3, 2017

Council plans to build on South Gosforth Green

Community open space threatened

We have just heard that Newcastle City Council has issued plans to build on South Gosforth Green, shown in the photograph above.

One of our East Gosforth ward councillors Cllr Henry Gallagher has asked people to take an interest and even sign the petition against this development.

Henry has told us via our Facebook page that events will be organised in due course and that he is working with the South Gosforth Residents Association on this.

High West Jesmond Residents’ Association is opposed to building on green open spaces used by the community when other more suitable sites are available. The South Gosforth Green is well used by local residents – much like The Valley and Little Dene in High West Jesmond. Neither site should see any land lost to buildings.

The following information has been published on the Save South Gosforth Green page on the Newcastle upon Tyne Liberal Democrats website:

Third of South Gosforth Green to be built on

“South Gosforth Green is well known to locals as a quiet oasis next to the noise of Haddrick’s Mill.

Newcastle City Council has released plans to build bungalows on about a third of the Green.

Whilst we support the Council’s aim to build housing specifically to aid those touched with autism we believe there are better nearby places available. Most notably the former Jesmond Dene Nursery site which the council is planning to sell off for millions of pounds. Like South Gosforth Green the nursery is set-off from the main road. Unlike the Green the Nursery gives access to the superb Jesmond Dene which would be of great benefit to the residents.

6 bungalows set in a tranquil green setting would be ideal for this type of accommodation.

So we call on the City Council to abandon plans to build on South Gosforth Green and to look instead at other sites in the area.”

August 15, 2017September 16, 2017

1950 – Kingswood Avenue

Parking was not a problem in High West Jesmond in 1950.

A heritage post by Chris Morgan

Visting High West Jesmond this weekend I couldn’t help noticing how difficult it is to park. Not like when this picture was taken in early spring 1950 in Kingswood Avenue.

Gas lamps. Wooden lock up garages on Lodore Road.

One poplar tree, the last remaining in the road from the time when the estate was laid out with each house supposed to have 2 trees!

One parked car, probably outside the bottom house of Charles Nichol, photographer.

In those days there may have been only 4 or 5 cars in the entire road, but we were troubled by learner drivers practising 3 point turns outside.

In those days, certainly until at least the late 1960s, many of the cars weren’t left on the street overnight. Those lock up garages (shown in the distance in the photograph) housed Jesmond Farm Dairies milk delivery vans and some cars.

Several houses in Kingswood were using backyards to park cars – many of those spaces now used for house extensions.

Jones’ Garage, now North Jesmond Garage, must have kept at least a dozen cars tightly squeezed in each night. In 1967 I paid 10/- (50p) a week to park my Morris Minor in there. That would probably equate to about £10 a week today.

August 5, 2017September 6, 2017

New Moorfield litter bin covers half of footpath

High West Jesmond has some new bins – some in strange locations

We thought you would find this picture of interest – it’s the new litter bin on Moorfield, High West Jesmond. Newcastle City Council is currently replacing 1,200 litter bins across the city with 800 new bins.

The new bins are larger in size and some of them have been strangely situated – including this one.

The bin covers half of the path along the side of the allotments on Moorfield – the very same path where volunteers from High West Jesmond’s Lending a Hand group had cleared overgrown grass and edged the path earlier in the year so that the pathways were back to their normal width and thus available for all users.

High West Jesmond Residents’ Association was not consulted by Newcastle City Council about the proposed location of the new litter bins – they have just appeared in recent weeks.

July 29, 2017September 16, 2017

1964 – Music with Movement on Moorfield

Moving a piano in High West Jesmond in 1964

A heritage post by Chris Morgan

Back at West Jesmond Junior School in the 1950’s we used to have to take part in exercise sessions to the tunes of “Music with Movement” from the BBC schools service, played on big Rediffusion loudspeakers.

In the 1950s many High West Jesmond houses would contain a piano.

Television was still very new and there were probably only 3 radio stations most people would listen to, the Light programme (now Radio 2), Home Service (Radio 4) or the Third Programme (Radio 3). Hilversum was probably the only other listened to by teenagers and young people.

As TV became more popular, and radio programmes more diverse, lots of pianos were no longer wanted. I never found out where this piano was going to, had come from, or why.

This picture was taken in Moorfield, by the junction with the Great North Road in autumn 1964. I have no idea who these lads were, or what they were doing with the piano at this time or place! Possibly on the way to a Guy Fawkes bonfire?