Honeysuckle: Then, Now & Looking to the Future for Newcastle’s Newest Hub

by Sophie Nixon on July 16, 2011

Honeysuckle on Newcastle Harbour has fast become one of the most popular spots in Newcastle for dining out, drinks & business meetings. The development site consists of seven precincts that cover 50 hectares & four kilometres of harbour front from Carrington to Nobby’s Lighthouse: Carrington, Linwood, the Marina, Wickham, Cottage Creek, Hunter St & the Honeysuckle boardwalk area itself.

The master plan to revive the Newcastle Harbour surrounds was developed in 1991. Up to this point, the Harbour precinct was forgotten about and left dilapidated and run down. Its neglect had resulted in overall decline, population loss, physical degradation and job loss.

Before the start of redevelopment, a set of planned outcomes for each precinct was devised, allowing the areas progress to be measured easily. You can view each precinct on the website, its set goals and what has been achieved so far.

For Honeysuckle itself, the two outstanding issues are the lack of parking and a connection to Hunter St. The initial proposal was to have 400 car spaces but so far there are only 200, and many locals would have experienced difficulties parking in this popular area during peak times. The connection to Hunter St is set amongst the debate regarding Newcastle’s train line - would a more unified CBD be better? Or does this part of the rail line still play an important role for commuters? Although these two outcomes yet been achieved, many have been including housing, restoration of heritage buildings and building of entertainment venues. Honeysuckle has becoming a busy social hub in Newcastle with a range of restaurants, accommodation, some small boutiques and hairdressers and the soon-to-be-opened Newcastle Museum.

There have been lots of changes in other areas of the development as well:

Linwood, located on the Harbour near Wickham and Maryville, is now home to a stretch of modern terraces along the waterfront (sometimes referred to as Lego Land). The initiative has created around 300 new dwellings for Novocastrians & its own little community with a cafe for the locals, and popular track for cycling, walking and jogging along Throsby Creek. All outcomes for this area have been met.

Cottage Creek is the commercial precinct of Honeysuckle, providing modern office space for businesses including Sparke & Helmore, Hunter Water Co., Price Waterhouse Coopers & Juicy Beans Cafe (great coffee & a caramel cheesecake to satisfy any sweet tooth!). These stand in place of old cargo facilities and also provide 300 car spaces for workers. Other outcomes for this area that we haven’t seen yet include a ferry wharf to link the Honeysuckle side of the Harbour to Stockton as well as the the foreshore, space to accommodate visiting cruise ships to come into port.

The development also covers a small part of  Hunter St. Since its commencement, this has transformed the west end of Hunter St to accommodate the Hunter New England Health Centre, The Ibis and new residential apartments in the area. These developments were put in play to increase commercial, residential and community facilities and remove the old, dilapidated buildings. The end goal is to link this area to the Honeysuckle restaurant precinct as well as create an educational facility.

Carrington, located on the other side of the Cowper St bridge, is a lovely suburb of streets lined with mining cottages and a range of pubs. The key proposals for this area of development were to improve community facilities, engage the local community and make environmental improvements. So far, the community hall has been refurbished, and the schools and local communities have been involved in all planning and openings. Landscaping with native species and dredging of Throsby Creek have also been completed to improve the overall environment.

The Marina precinct is where you will find the Newcastle Yacht Club as well as the Co-op, Mangrove Jacks, Rocksalt and the Mariner apartments. The development of the marina has been successful in expanding Newcastle’s fishing fleet as well as developing a modern yacht club & associated facilties for Newcastle.

We’re also looking forward to seeing the Tree of Knowledge Park for Wickham, which is proposed to be a green space for locals to have a rest near the Harbourside or even a picnic!

The area has changed so much in recent years and we’ll continue to see it develop to attract and accommodate more of Newcastle. What do you think of the Honeysuckle Developments? Tell us your opinion by commenting below!