A total of 5,000 homes are set to be made available in North Tyneside amid calls to bring in new and better jobs to the area.
Deputy Mayor, Councillor Carl Johnson, updated North Tyneside cabinet on new developments and employment plans in Wallsend, Whitley Bay, and North Shields. North Tyneside Council launched its updated North Tyneside Plan 2021-23 on September 23, 2021.
The plan, according to council documents, aims to "regenerate the high streets of North Shields and Wallsend and in addition to the master plan for North Shields we will bring forward master plans for Wallsend and Whitley Bay town centres".
Read More: Former Morpeth police station is up for sale
The document adds: "We will also bring investment and improvements to the North West area of the borough and ensure that regeneration delivers ambition, opportunities and benefits for all our residents."
The council is building on the progress of its Affordable Housing Programme, set to deliver 5,000 new homes in the borough in the next 10 years. A total of 1,801 homes have been completed to date with 266 new affordable homes expected for delivery during the 2021-22 period.
Particular attention has been focused on Wallsend, where the council claims there are ongoing issues with low quality private rented accommodation. The council has acquired several properties on Charlotte Street from a single landlord, and has refurbished and repurposed them.
Other developments in the area include 12 new homes at the Cedars Resources site in the Collingwood ward. The council has also pledged to increase the amount of good quality jobs in Wallsend, using adult education, apprenticeships, and the transport capabilities in the town.
The council's plans in Wallsend also includes making the area attractive for businesses with a skilled workforce able to meet the industry's needs.
Work has begun on a number of projects in North Shields and work has also started on improvements to Northumberland Square on the high street, and repairs to the Protection Jetty.
Coun Martin Rankin, cabinet member for Finance and Resources, said: "The only thing that was missed off there was that all of this was done during a global pandemic. I think from the point of view of officer workloads, additional work that has been thrust from central Government, half baked policies, with no systems in place and uncertainty around funding, achieving all this is really a remarkable performance."
The deputy mayor updated the council on works currently under way in Whitley Bay and Wallsend. Whitley Bay is set to receive a regenerated promenade and, if funding is sufficient, see a permanent cycle way installed on the coast.
