North Tyneside

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This article is about the metropolitan borough. For the parliamentary constituency, see North Tyneside (UK Parliament constituency).

North Tyneside
Metropolitan borough
North Tyneside Council Headquarters at Cobalt Business Park
North Tyneside Council Headquarters at Cobalt Business Park
Official logo of North Tyneside
Coat of Arms of the Borough Council
Motto(s): 
We Serve
Location of North Tyneside in England
Location of North Tyneside in England
Coordinates: 55°00′44″N 1°32′44″W / 55.0123°N 1.5456°W / 55.0123; -1.5456
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryEngland
RegionNorth East
CountyTyne and Wear
Established1 April 1974
Admin HQWallsend
Government
 • TypeMayor and Cabinet
 • BodyNorth Tyneside Council
 • MPsMary Glindon
Alan Campbell
Area
 • Land31.81 sq mi (82.38 km2)
Population
 (2011)
 • Estimate 
(2011)
207,913 (Ranked 89th)
 • Density6,026/sq mi (2,326.5/km2)
 • Ethnicity
(2011 census) [1]
95.1% White British
1.9% Asian
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Websitewww.northtyneside.gov.uk

The Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It forms a part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. The North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Business Park, Wallsend.

North Tyneside is bordered by Newcastle upon Tyne to the west, the North Sea to the east, the River Tyne to the south and Northumberland to the north. Within its bounds are the towns of Wallsend, North Shields, Killingworth and Whitley Bay, which form a continuously built-up area contiguous with Newcastle.

History[]

The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the county borough of Tynemouth, with the borough of Wallsend, part of the borough of Whitley Bay, the urban district of Longbenton and part of the urban district of Seaton Valley, all of which were in Northumberland.

Geography[]

The following places are located in North Tyneside:

North Tyneside is split by the A19: the west of the borough is more urban, and is mostly contiguous with the city of Newcastle. The towns in the east of the borough are more separate from the central part of the Newcastle urban area. Many of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Tyne and Wear are found in the coastal part of the borough.

Administration and elections[]

Main article: North Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council elections

Unlike most English districts, North Tyneside Council is led by a directly elected mayor, currently Labour's Norma Redfearn. Ordinarily the council has sixty elected members, three from each of the twenty wards in the borough, however there are currently three vacancies to be filled at the next election. This means there are currently fifty seven members, most of whom also represent the Labour Party.[2]

#E4003B
Labour 48
#0087DC
Conservative 7
#FAA61A
Liberal Democrats 1
#DDDDDD
Independent 1

The election of North Tyneside councillors is staggered into thirds, with one councillor from each ward elected each year for three consecutive years, with the mayoral election being held on the fourth year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the election of councillors in 2020 was postponed by one year; this means in May 2021 there will be a triple election, wherein voters will elect both their councillors and the mayor, along with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria Police.[3]

North Tyneside is part of the North of Tyne combined authority, along with Newcastle and Northumberland, and so additionally elects the Mayor of North of Tyne.

Economy[]

North Tyneside lies in the coalfield that covers the South-East of the historic county of Northumberland. It has traditionally been a centre of heavy industry along with the rest of Tyneside, with for example the Swan Hunter shipyard in Wallsend, and export of coal. Today most of the heavy industry has gone, leaving high unemployment in some areas (over the borough, 3.2% compared to 2.7% for the UK). The borough is the 69th most deprived in England, out of 354. However some parts function as wealthy dormitory suburbs of Newcastle, such as Tynemouth. Recent growth has come in the A19 corridor with new industrial estates and retail parks.

Transport[]

Tyne Tunnel Southern Entrance

Two key roads serve North Tyneside:

  • The A19 which leaves the A1 north of Newcastle and runs through the borough and then through the Tyne Tunnel to South Tyneside, Teesside and towards the South.
  • The Coast Road (A1058) runs from Newcastle to the coast. For most of its length it is grade-separated.

North Tyneside is served by 17 stations on the Tyne & Wear Metro on a loop from Newcastle through Wallsend, North Shields, Whitley Bay, Benton and back to Newcastle. Trains operate at least every 15 minutes, with extra services in the peak hours. Most of the stations serving North Tyneside fall into fare zones B and C.

There are no National Rail stations in the borough, despite the East Coast Main Line and Blyth and Tyne routes passing through. The nearest National Rail station is Newcastle, which is also served by the Tyne & Wear Metro.

North Tyneside has an extensive bus network, with most areas benefiting from direct services to Newcastle. Many areas have direct bus services to Cramlington, Blyth or Morpeth. The principle bus operators in the area are Arriva North East (all areas), Go North East (most areas) and Stagecoach in Newcastle (Benton, Forest Hall, Killingworth and Wallsend).

The Shields Ferry links North Shields to South Shields, in South Tyneside.[4]

There is an international ferry terminal at Royal Quays in North Shields, with a service to Amsterdam (IJmuiden).[5]

Places of interest[]

Segudunum Roman fort
  • Segedunum Roman fort is in Wallsend (at the end of Hadrian's wall).
  • The Stephenson Railway Museum in New York, named after George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson who hailed from Tyneside and lived in West Moor in North Tyneside 1802–1824.
  • Tynemouth Castle and Priory
  • North Tyneside includes coastline covering Tynemouth, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay
  • Blue Reef Aquarium in Tynemouth
  • St. Mary's Island in Whitley Bay
  • North Shields Fish Quay, Clifford's Fort and the High and Low Lights of North Shields

Twinned towns[]

  • Denmark Frederikshavn in Denmark
  • Germany Mönchengladbach in Germany
  • Germany Oer-Erkenschwick in Germany[6]
  • France Halluin in France[7]
  • Lithuania Klaipėda in Lithuania
  • Mexico Coatzacoalcos in Mexico
  • United States Charlotte in North Carolina

References[]

  1. ^ UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – North Tyneside Local Authority (1946157066)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Councillors". North Tyneside Council. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. ^ "The next election for NE27 0BY is Thursday 6 May". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Ferry - Nexus Tyne and Wear". Nexus. Retrieved 30 January 2016. The Shields Ferry operates a daily passenger service across the river Tyne which connects the local communities of North and South Shields.
  5. ^ "Newcastle ferry". Direct Ferries. Retrieved 30 January 2016. The Newcastle to Amsterdam ferry route is operated by DFDS Seaways and the sailing itself is from around 15 hours 30 minutes.
  6. ^ "Stadt Oer-Erkenschwick - Städtepartnerschaften". Retrieved 5 June 2021. Oer-Erkenschwick - Twin Towns.
  7. ^ "Halluin à l'international". Retrieved 5 June 2021. Halluin Twintowns.

External links[]

  • Archives of North Tyneside (including boroughs of Tynemouth, Wallsend and Whitley Bay and Longbenton Urban District are preserved and accessible at Tyne and Wear Archives Service [1]
  • Wallsend Town Information regarding the town centre and areas covering Wallsend in North Tyneside can be found here.
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