Newcastle City Council have published plans for Jesmond Dene Road and Matthew Bank, and are inviting feedback by Sunday 29 March 2026. This implements a variation on the plan for a cycle track agreed by the Blue House Working Group in 2018 and extends these down Matthew Bank to replace the current dangerous door-zone “murderstrip” cycle lane.
Full plans can be seen on the Newcastle City Council website with instructions for how to reply.
The main changes are:
- A two-way cycle track between Moorfield and Castle Farm Road connecting Gosforth to Jesmond Dene and Jesmond to the Freeman Hospital.
- New pedestrian / Toucan crossings by Castle Farm Road, Friday Fields Lane, and on Osborne Road and Ilford Road.
- Footway build-outs to improve safety for pedestrians, replacing the bollards at the ends of Beatty Avenue and Sturdee Gardens.
- Resurfacing the road (which will account for a substantial part of the cost).
On Jesmond Dene Road the cycle track will be on the south side of the road. Jesmond Dene Road is wide enough to accommodate this without needing any restrictions to vehicle traffic. The junction with Moorfield will remain light-controlled but pedestrians will be able to cross the full width in one go. Vehicles exiting Moorfield will only be able to turn left (east) so vehicles heading towards Osborne Road or Blue House roundabout will have to exit the estate via Ilford Road.
Jesmond Dene Road from Moorfield to Friday Fields Lane.
Pavement buildouts at the end of Beatty Avenue and Sturdee Gardens are already permanent so we presume are included in this plan only for completeness, but this should mean the current bollards are replaced by pavement.
In the 2018 Blue House Working Group plans the cycle track was on the north side, with a crossing by Friday Fields Lane to connect to Jesmond Dene Road heading east. Moving this to the south side should improve safety as the cycle track does not have to cross any roads. The crossing has, however, been retained. This will improve pedestrian access to the Dene.
Jesmond Dene Road and Matthew Bank
On Matthew Bank the current parking is retained but swaps place with the cycle track, so the cycle track is next to the pavement rather than being in the door-zone of the parked cars.
A new crossing is planned by Beatty Avenue, with the track ending at Castle Farm Road.
Matthew Bank connections to Beatty Avenue and Castle Farm Road.
Changes are proposed to Ilford Road, including a new crossing where it meets Jesmond Dene Road and wider pavements. East-west traffic on Moorfield is to have priority over north-south traffic on Ilford Road.
A new crossing over the north end of Osborne Road is also planned. This was also part of the Blue House Working Group plans.
Junction of Ilford Road with Moorfield and Jesmond Dene Road
SPACE for Gosforth’s view
Overall SPACE for Gosforth supports the changes. The new pedestrian crossings will make it easier for residents to access the Dene and access shops and services in Jesmond. The cycle track enables multiple connections, greatly expanding the effective cycle network, and should complement Ouseburn Way plans to improve access to, along and across Jesmond Dene. Pavement build-outs improve road safety at junctions. We are also pleased to see some of the long-overdue changes agreed by the Blue House Working Group finally being implemented.
Detailed feedback:
- We’re not sure of the rationale for the new crossing at the south end of Ilford Road. While we are generally in favour of frequent good quality pedestrian crossings, this appears to assume there will be high levels of traffic entering or exiting this junction. If so, an assessment needs to be made about how to reduce this volume of traffic rather than seeking to design a minor road as a major thoroughfare.
- These changes should improve, or at least not make worse, cycle access from Jesmond Dene Road to Highbury via Moorfield and Ilford Road. The Blue House plans (see below) included a cycle track at the south end of Ilford Road. If this is not to be implemented the Council needs to ensure that traffic volume and speed on this route meets LTN1/20 standards to be suitable for all users.
- We are concerned that changing priority at the Ilford Road – Moorfield junction will result in higher east-west speeds rather than north-south speeds. The original Blue House plans, and also Streets for People plans, aimed to reduces speeds in all traffic directions.
- Pedestrian and cycle crossings should be configured to minimise wait time, to avoid delay to people walking or cycling, and to allow sufficient time for people who may not walk so quickly to cross the road.
- The Council should consider having the cycle track continue to Crossway rather than ending at Moorfield. The detail design should allow for people who wish to continue cycling west along Jesmond Dene Road.
- The Council should proceed now with the pavement build-outs for Sturdee Gardens and Beatty Avenue as these have already been consulted on.
- Shared surfaces (for walking and cycling) should be avoided where possible. E.g. using the approach used for the pedestrian crossing outside the Three Mile Inn on Great North Road.
- The Council should consider providing a bench or other seating at the top of Matthew Bank to allow people who have walked up Matthew Bank or Jesmond Dene Road somewhere to rest.
- The width of the cycle track on Matthew Bank should account for the differing speeds of people cycling up and down hill, and ensure there is space to avoid being hit by a car door. If this is not possible the parking could be moved to the other side of the road, or removed entirely.
- The proposed bus lane opposite Beatty Avenue is so short that it looks like it would have minimal benefit and could create safety issues close to the crossing and bus stop due to vehicles having to merge into a single lane. A better use of this space would be a short section of with-flow north-bound cycle track to enable people who wish to continue cycling towards Haddricks Mill to do so.
- We would like some assurance that the proposed re-surfacing, which we estimate will cost >£500,000k in itself, isn’t being funded out of Active Travel funds.
Plans from the Blue House Working Group and Streets for People proposals are included below.
2018 plans from the Blue House Working Group.
2017 Streets for People plans for High West Jesmond
I am completely against this. I feel so much of tax payers money is wasted on cycle lanes. Calling this a “murder strip” seems quite extreme seeing as I have never heard of accident here, never mind a “murder”. There is a lower level of traffic here due to certain roads being blocked off (e.g. Reid Park Road), it will take years to be completed and add to increased traffic levels because nothing is ever completed at a reasonable time frame by the council. In addition to this, it is a 20 mph zone and there are very wide roads (specifically on Jesmond Dene Road) with speed bumps. I’d rather all of the money was used on resurfacing the roads around Jesmond as some of the potholes are so bad you can actually see the cobbled street beneath it. Jesmond is a very walkable area and as for cyclists, there are many other routes available, the town moor being the main one and I can see the council have already removed stretches of grass and wild space to put tarmac down which I assume is for cyclists? Again, a waste of money in my opinion, this should have been used on improving the green space and actually helping the environment e.g. maybe planting a few trees?
All transport investments cost money unfortunately. Walking and cycling schemes are about the cheapest and best value because of improved road safety, reduced pollution and a multitude of health benefits. Compare that to Moor Farm roundabout on the A19, which National Highways has admitted itself will increase traffic levels, cost hundreds of millions and is poor value for money.
Quite a bit of the cost of this scheme (we estimate between £500k and £1m) will relate to resurfacing Jesmond Dene Road, which will have no benefit for people walking or cycling despite it being advertised as an active travel scheme. And we would definitely support more greenery – some planting is included in the proposals by Castle Farm Road.
We’re not sure why you think the Town Moor would be a good alternative to this route? That would be like saying drivers don’t need to use Matthew Bank because they can use the central motorway. Nor are we aware of any works on the Town Moor for cycling (though that would be good). Perhaps you are thinking of the drainage works being put in by the Freemen?
I think you need to concentrate on the parking issues 1st. People are now parking all the way down past the bus stop directly opposite traffic islands, making passing quite hazardous not knowing is someone is going to open a car door.
These plans are excellent and I look forward to their implementation. There are so many parked cars that it is impossible to cross the road next to my house. The speed of vehicles is also a problem when crossing. Anything that might help to encourage people to cycle and walk is great. There are too many cars on the road and many drivers have no interest in sharing the road considerately- they only think about what suits them.
Thank you for your comment. The plans should definitely make it safer and quicker to walk and cycle.
There is no need for an additional pelican crossing at Ilford Rd when there is a crossing so close by already – especially given the huge cost of installing and running them (~ £500,000). We actually need a pelican crossing to allow pedestrians to cross Osborne Rd safely at the junction with Jesmond Dene Rd. This should be a higher priority than the suggested crossings, which will only increase traffic pollution from idling vehicles stop-starting their way along Jesmond Dene Rd & Matthew Bank.
Putting the cycle lane on the south side may encourage greater use of the pedestrian pathway outside La Sagesse on Jesmond Dene Rd, which is already dangerous as cyclists often cannot be heard by pedestrians until they are too close for safety.
Jesmond Dene Rd needs to retain its left hand lane heading towards Blue House roundabout or there will be serious traffic congestion backing down to and beyond Castle Farm Rd. This may well increase driver frustration and the consequent risks of them jumping the lights at the existing traffic lights even more than they do now.
The idea of putting the cyclists away from immediately next to the road is good.
The potholes in Jesmond should be addressed properly, not just botched again, as this will have the best safety improvements for all road users.
So overall I disagree with the proposed scheme.
Hi Jacki,
It’s probably worth you having another read of the proposals as the crossing you suggest at the end of Osborne Road is included in the plans. The left turn lane from Jesmond Dene Road to Osborne Road is also being maintained although left turn lanes don’t really give a lot of benefit. The cycleway should also reduce pavement cycling if anything.
Re: costs of pedestrian crossings. Transport for London says these cost between £80k and £130k to install and £2k annually thereafter, so we’re not sure where you got the £500k figure from? https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/questions-mayor/find-an-answer/cost-new-pedestrian-crossings