Wallsend town centre and Riverside
Consultants Mackellar Architecture Ltd were appointed in January 2005 to engage with residents, Council Officers and stakeholders in the Wallsend, Riverside and East Howdon areas to develop a vision for the regeneration of these areas.
Regeneration are now preparing a delivery plan for the regeneration of the area over the next 15 to 20 years.
The town of Wallsend lies approximately 5 miles to the east of Newcastle upon Tyne and 3 miles to the west of North Shields. A Municipal Borough until re-organisation of Local Government in 1974, the geographical area referred to as 'Wallsend' has now spread well beyond the original town area.
Wallsend has historic roots, with the eastern end of the Roman Wall being anchored here on the River Tyne alongside the fort of Segedunum, which is located close to the commercial centre, south of the High Street.
The original town lies on the north bank of the River Tyne, which provided the basis for much of the employment of the town during its period of rapid growth in the late 19th and early 20th century.
This period of growth and the consequent development of Wallsend as a large urban township was very much related to the extraction of coal, shipbuilding and other heavy engineering and maritime industries that developed along the riverside during the 19th and early 20th century.
The two main roads through the town centre, High Street East/West and Station Road, have both been key transport routes in the development of Wallsend.
High Street (West) links westwards to Byker and Newcastle City Centre and High Street (East) links eastwards to North Shields/the coast.
Station Road provides an essential north-south link across the coast railway embankment that otherwise forms a significant east-west physical barrier between the riverside employment areas and the commercial centre and residential areas north of the embankment. Station Road then links northwards to the Coast Road, the main road between Newcastle and the coastal settlements.
The estimated population of south west area is 43,777.