After three years of hard work, Cllr Nick Kemp was delighted to welcome members of Newcastle United to Byker to help celebrate the creation of the Byker Community Trust. Nick worked tirelessly on the creation of the Trust with support from local MP Nick Brown, fellow ward councillors, George and Veronica, and especially local residents. The creation of the Trust follows years of hard work, initiated by the then Labour Housing Minister John Healey recognising the importance of Byker, after the previous Liberal Democrat administration submitted an appalling weak and flawed PFI bid to regenerate the Byker Estate.
Cllr Nick Kemp, working on the steering group, took the lead and has created a unique opportunity. Nick said: ”We have managed to persuade the Government to write off 40 million pounds of debt and have negotiated a fantastic arrangement with a lender. We are now in the position with four tenants elected to a board to make good the investment into the estate, starting with the district heating and the famous Byker Wall.
This has been a tremendous achievement for all involved and creates a bright future for the tenants of Byker. It seemed only right for us to arrange to have the two Byker primary schools have a training session run by Newcastle United as one of the celebrations of the creation of the Trust.”