Reason for petition:

An application by the Adderstone Group has been made to change Uptin House, from an active community space to high rise student apartments.

Objection to this application are based on the following:

1) Student accommodation in the Ouseburn valley is already passed saturation point according to officials and therefore negates the need for further student accommodation in such close proximity.

2) it will be detrimental to a huge loss of community activity in the north of the valley. The Tower and Northwing have been instrumental in bringing communities together. This includes the promotion of local artists and musicians, fundraising events for many local causes and creates a hub of informal social entrepreneurial activity. Hence losing such a space would leave a great gaping hole in the soul of the Ouseburn Valley.

3) It is a grave concern that much of our history would be lost in the process.A small part of the history is as follows;

Shieldfield Board school
opened in 1896 with 807 children in 12 classrooms
closed in 1937
In 1893 the population of Shieldfield had grown to 13,000
and the voluntary schools in the area couldn't cope with the numbers of children
so Newcastle Corporation allocated funds to build a new school on Stepney Rd on a narrow thin site that ran down to the millrace