The Newcastle Drop - July 11, 2025
Dramatic scenes in Byker, campaigners want speed restrictions on the Central Motorway and one of the city's best known shops is on the move.
Good morning Newcastle. Here’s today’s Newcastle Drop
🚒 A woman has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire caused extensive damage to a house in North View, Byker. Six homes in the area were evacuated as five fire crews tackled the blaze. - Nicole Goodwin, ChronicleLive
🚗 The speed limit on Newcastle's Central Motorway and other busy routes could be cut after a plea to make the city's roads safer. Newcastle City Council bosses have committed to review the 70mph stretch between the city centre and Cowgate. - Dan Holland, Local Democracy Reporter
🚓 A car stolen from Newcastle crashed into a care home in Sunderland after a police chase. Eight people from the home were taken to hospital and two people have been arrested. - Nicole Goodwin, ChronicleLive
👗 Next has closed its shop in Eldon Square to move to a new location. The new branch in part of the old Debenhams site will open on July 15. - Simon Duke, ChronicleLive
On this day: Russian spy Rudolf Abel, whose story was part of the Steven Spielberg film Bridge of Spies, was born on this day in Newcastle (1903)
💊 The opening of an addiction recovery centre at Fenham library has been hailed as a success. The project has been operating for six months and has been praised by a local councillor and public health director Alice Wiseman. - Dan Holland, Local Democracy Reporter
🚲 A woman who was hospitalised after being hit by a bike is calling for a cycle path in Heaton to be removed or redesigned before anyone else is injured. Joanne Mckie suffered multiple injuries in the incident. - Nicole Goodwin, ChronicleLive
👷 Newcastle firm Bellway has agreed to pay £13.5m after a probe into breaches of competition regulations. The Competition and Markets Authority investigated Bellway and six other firms over allegations that they exchanged details about sales. - Graeme Whitfield, BusinessLive
🏠 Newcastle City Council has been selected as one of 10 councils to help design a national initiative on council house building. The Council Housebuilding Support Service has been launched by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. - Newcastle City Council
⬆️ The Toffee Factory is staging a summer pop-up to showcase female-owned small businesses.
🪑 Home interiors brand Oka is set to launch a concession at Fenwick in Newcastle as part of expansion plans. The concession opens on August 23. - Alice Bird, InsiderMedia
🏗️ Investment company Develop North has announced plans to increase its activities to support businesses, housing and regeneration projects in the region. The Newcastle firm is considering fundraising on the stock market to accelerate its growth. - Graeme Whitfield, BusinessLive
🚙 Council bosses in Newcastle say they are “not averse” to imposing new late-night parking charges in the city centre. - Dan Holland, Local Democracy Reporter
⚖️ A Bangladeshi national found to have fabricated homosexuality in an attempt to secure asylum in the UK has been granted permission to appeal by an immigration judge. The 40-year-old had been turned down at a hearing in Newcastle last year. - Jack Marshall, Newcastle World
🏃♀️ Two female-led Newcastle firms are being featured in a unique new store on one of London’s busiest shopping streets. Skiwear firm Sloobie and Yana Active are featured at A Style of Our Own, which has been set up to showcase female-focused sports fashion. - Graeme Whitfield, BusinessLive
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📌 West Jesmond Primary School has been judged outstanding in all five areas after a recent Ofsted inspection. You can find the full report here.
📌 Better leisure will stage free open days at its centres in Newcastle later this month. East End Pool, Newcastle Trampoline Park and Gym, Walker Activity Dome and Gosforth Leisure Centre will be offering free sessions on July 19 and 20. More details can be found here.
📌 Newcastle Arts Centre will be donating all of its commission income from the current Tom Lawson exhibition to its crowdfunder for a disabled lift. More details here.
The 100 best things in Newcastle
Number 27: Emerson Chambers
Now Waterstones’ Newcastle store, Emerson Chambers on Blackett Street was opened in 1903 as a high-class restaurant complete with resident orchestra for the innkeeper Robert Emerson Jnr. It was listed in 1987.
In each edition of the Newcastle Drop I’ll be sharing some of my favourite things about Newcastle. You can see the previous selection here. I haven’t got all 100 worked out just yet, so feel free to make suggestions on what I should include. You can get in touch here with your own favourites.
Thanks for reading The Newcastle Drop - a new newsletter that aims to bring together all of the news and community events from around our city. It’s brought to you by Graeme Whitfield, editor of The Journal and long-time resident of the city.
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