A record of the urban redevelopment of the Scotswood Road area of Newcastle, commissioned by Newcastle City Council Planning Department in 1963. High angle shots from a tower block under construction, probably at Cruddas Park, document the Scotswood Road redevelopment sites in transition.The River Tyne and Gateshead are visible in some shots. A general view of a block of cleared waste ground on the Scotswood Road with a partly demolished Victorian terrace at one corner. The camera pans...

A record of the urban redevelopment of the Scotswood Road area of Newcastle, commissioned by Newcastle City Council Planning Department in 1963. High angle shots from a tower block under construction, probably at Cruddas Park, document the Scotswood Road redevelopment sites in transition.The River Tyne and Gateshead are visible in some shots. A general view of a block of cleared waste ground on the Scotswood Road with a partly demolished Victorian terrace at one corner. The camera pans across the industrial landscape. There are panoramic views south towards Gateshead that record rail tracks, two gasometers, and industrial sites on the north bank of the Tyne, probably between Dunn Street and Tyneside Road. There are some small areas of traditional Victorian terraced streets and other buildings in line for demolition. To the north of Scotswood Road, there is a high-rise apartment block that towers over one remaining Victorian house. A new build warehouse (Vickers office?) is sited across the road. The camera zooms in for a closer shot of the warehouse next to a partly demolished roof of a derelict house nearby. Down at ground level, a high-rise block is glimpsed behind a derelict house. Brick rubble is scattered on the site. Various shots record new warehouse buildings, scaffolding and piles of rubble still on site. The old cobbles of the Victorian streets are contrasted with the new build in one shot. Traffic drives past on the Scotswood Road. There is a shot of old industrial factory workshops. Various shots capture the Victorian street grid of cobbled roads, cars parked beside waste ground awaiting new-build, and the progress of demolition. Three men are working at a demolition site. The film cuts to a shot of Cowies motorcycle salesroom on a stretch of the Scotswood Road, with terraced housing still standing. The final shot depicts another clearance site. [Note: During the 1960s many parts of Newcastle were designated Comprehensive Development Areas (CDAs). T. Dan Smith, City Councillor 1950-1965, and William Burns, Chief Planning Officer, initiated a modernisation programme with widespread demolition of Victorian and Georgian parts of the city and construction of new urban motorways, parking facilities, commercial buildings and housing.]