Built on feedback from residents and businesses, our Ambition for North Tyneside lays out a number of bold projects reflecting the authority’s ambition around its five themes:
- Thriving
- Secure
- Family friendly
- Caring
- Green
It focuses on the needs of every part of the borough and sets out how the council hopes to help shape North Tyneside and make sure it is fit for the future.
What we want to achieve
The South West has some fantastic assets; a World Heritage site at Segedunum, the industrial north bank of the Tyne, with world leading businesses (including the Swans site), a great leisure offer with Hadrian Leisure Centre, well used libraries and the refurbished Richardson Dees Parks and strong transport links in some areas.
We continue to support business and residents to create more and better jobs, working with public transport providers and funders to help improve the connections in areas that do not have strong transport links. We also want to improve the housing offer and improve the sense of place and community, which in turn, will go towards closing the gap in life chances.
What we are doing now
Ambition for Wallsend
We have some ambitious plans for Wallsend and are currently working alongside funders and partners to create a vibrant and connected Wallsend.
The plans prioritise making improvements to the quality of housing in the town by renovating poor-quality properties and building new homes, connecting residents to good jobs through employment support and further education, transport infrastructure and putting Wallsend on the map for employers.
Draft proposals include plans to transform Segedunum and better link it with the town centre, improvements to the town centre public realm and the pedestrian routes along the high streets and Station Road.
Engagement on the draft ‘Ambition for Wallsend’ took place in early 2023 and the outcome of this engagement exercise was reported to Cabinet on 22 May 2023. The report can be found here.
The final document was subsequently approved on 19 July 2023 and can be found below.
You can find more information on the Ambition for Wallsend here.
Segedunum
We have developed ideas with our partner, Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, for the transformation of Segedunum Roman Fort and Museum. These ideas include creating a more prominent entrance and café on the ground floor, moving the car park to the east of Station Road, turning the existing car park into an events space, developing new gallery space and an improved digital offer and bringing the Bath House back into use.
We have already secured £499,000 of grant funding from Art Council England’s MEND fund for repairs to the museum. These repairs include replacement of the air handling system which will improve the heat and humidity controls to better protect museum displays and enable loans of artefacts from national and international museums.
Hadrian Health Centre
Healthcare building specialist Assura worked with owners of the Forum Shopping Centre, NewRiver Retail, to develop the Hadrian Health Centre which opened in December 2022.
The health centre accommodates the former GP services of the Park Road Medical Practice and Portugal Place Health Centre who have now merged to form Hadrian Health Centre.
The centre also accommodates community services provided by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
The building has been built to modern, environmentally friendly, state-of-the-art specifications including solar panels to limit the electricity required from the grid and reducing its carbon footprint. It includes both consulting and treatment rooms, light and airy spaces for patients and good access for disabled people and those with young children due to wider doors/corridors and the provision of lifts. There are also dedicated training areas for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
More details can be found here.
Swans Centre for Innovation (CFI)
We completed the second phase of the Centre for Innovation in 2020 which has seen the creation of 10,000 sq. ft of commercial floorspace for businesses and builds on the success of the first phase of the scheme which is occupied by a range of companies related to the offshore / energy sectors. Current tenants include Walker Subsea, Global Offshore Logistics and Dynatech Renewables.
The CFI continues to be advertised on the Council’s Vacant Property pages as well as on Locate North Tyneside and at offshore energy events and exhibitions throughout the year.
https://my.northtyneside.gov.uk/category/715/vacant-land-and-property
http://www.locatenorthtyneside.co.uk/
Swans Energy Park
Following Cabinet’s decision in March 2018 to approach the market about selling the former Swan Hunter shipyard the freehold sale was completed to the preferred bidder, Shepherd Offshore Limited, in December 2020.
Shepherd Offshore has since upgraded the quay infrastructure at the site and are developing their plans for further investment and securing an occupier. These plans form part of a wider long-term strategy with partners to continue to develop the Tyne as a world class offshore energy location being progressed under the Tyne Powered initiative:
https://investnortheastengland.co.uk/tyne-powered/home/
https://shepherdoffshore.com/facilities-properties/swans-energy-park/
Wallsend Civic Hall
The lease with the previous operator of the Civic Hall has now ended. We have secured the building and are carrying out some roof repairs to prevent further deterioration of this historic building, a Grade II listed building.
Wallsend Hall is a building with significant potential and, under the right ownership and with targeted investment, can become a real asset to the Borough and complement the ambitious regeneration plans we have for Wallsend.
We are now inviting expressions of interest from developers to identify ideas for developing the building. The particulars can be found here:
https://my.northtyneside.gov.uk/category/715/vacant-land-and-property
The Buddle
The former Buddle Arts centre is owned by Adavo, the owner and operator of the Town Hall business centre on High Street East, Wallsend.
Adavo is looking to bring the building back into use as a business centre focusing on health, beauty and wellbeing. Adavo has made applications for planning permission and Listed Building Consent and these are being considered by the Council as local planning authority.
Towns & High Streets Innovation Programme
Funded by North of Tyne Combined Authority, we have secured £1.9m which is seeing five key projects being delivered – Active Travel & Place Making, Shop Front Improvement Scheme, Events & Animation Programme, Segedunum High Street Presence, and bespoke business support for Wallsend businesses.
The Wallsend High Street Transformation Board brings together representatives from various areas and sectors of the chosen area including residents, voluntary organisations, businesses, and regeneration colleagues, to oversee performance and provide monitoring & oversight throughout the lifetime of the project.
To find out more about specific business support in Wallsend, please visit the business support pages of the website here.
Shop Front Improvement Scheme
A shop front improvement grant scheme has been delivered providing grants to businesses in Wallsend Town Centre to invest in the external appearance of their commercial premises and encourage future business growth.
The grants were for any retail units with a ground floor shop unit or doorway access / signage for an upper floor commercial premises, which is accessible to the public.
Thirty shop front grants were approved with 21 having been completed as of 11 March.
Further details can be found in the Ambition for Wallsend newsletters on this page:
https://my.northtyneside.gov.uk/page/31138/ambition-wallsend
Working Well Hub
One of the three policy priorities in the Wallsend Masterplan is to make sure Wallsend residents are connected to good jobs.
In September 2023 the latest Working Well Hub in North Tyneside opened in Wallsend Customer First Centre.
The Hub is on the first floor of the customer service centre providing a one-stop-shop for employment, skills, and health support.
As well as expert employment support there is information and advice on hand to address wider barriers to employment including debt, physical and mental health, and housing.
The Working Well North Tyneside hub is open from 9.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday, walk ins are welcome.
More information can be found here.
What we will do next
Ambition for Wallsend
Following approval of the Ambition for Wallsend Masterplan a delivery plan will be produced. The delivery plan will identify the individual projects within the plan, the lead organisation and potential sources of funding.
We will also continue to explore opportunities to secure grant funding from Government and other organisations for projects in the masterplan.
Housing Development
One of the policy priorities in the Ambition for Wallsend regeneration masterplan is to Improve the quality of the housing offer in Wallsend; in particular making the area a focus of the Mayor and Cabinet’s plans for 5000 affordable homes and tackling some of the poor quality privately rented housing in the area.
This priority is being pursued in Wallsend Town Centre by actively looking for new development and refurbishment opportunities and then seeking funding to deliver them.
The Council has now secured funding from the North of Tyne Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing fund to enable ten new affordable homes to be developed at the Parkside House site (which will be demolished) in Elton Street East.
Alongside the new build development the Council’s Cabinet of 18 February 2024 approved a housing led regeneration scheme targeting empty homes in Wallsend town centre. This scheme has a fund of £600,000 to pay for the purchase and refurbishment of empty homes in the terraced streets north of High Street East. This builds on the Council’s success across the borough of reducing the number of empty homes by 35% since 2019.
Any homes purchased will be refurbished by the Council and sold at market value to Aurora Affordable Homes, a company wholly owned by the Council to develop homes to be let at affordable rent. This strategy will enable the funding to be recycled to purchase more homes in the future