Housing Minister Takes Tour of the Byker Wall
Housing Minister John Healey visited Newcastle today and joined Nick Brown on a tour of the Byker Wall.
Newcastle City Council had a bid rejected for PFI cash to upgrade the area in July, with the Housing Department saying at the time that the bid had failed to meet “any of the required criteria”. Mr Healey personally intervened at Nick’s request, and said today that he was determined to find a way forward for the project.
After looking round the estate Mr Healey said: “This is everything that people told me about Byker. Nick Brown told me how strong the community spirit it, and that people want to live here.
“The big challenge now is dealing with the issues around how it was built and the materials it was built with, but I have seen what is so special about Byker.”