Gateshead Regeneration Plan

Gateshead has a long history of innovation and pushing boundaries, re-inventing itself and enabling regeneration again and again. 

Gateshead was the first place to have a house powered by an electric light bulb. It had the first purpose-built Trading Estate at Team Valley in the 1930s. During the 1980s, Sir John Hall built Europe's largest shopping centre - the Metrocentre. In the 1990s, it hosted the National Gateshead Garden Festival to showcase innovation and regeneration, and at the end of the decade, it commissioned the Angel of the North.  

Starting the 21st Century boldly, the focus was on cultural regeneration and welcoming some of the UK's most renowned architects and artists. The Glasshouse ICM, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge transformed the landscape and perceptions of the borough. 

New approaches to housing development also raised Gateshead's profile nationally - at Dunston Staiths, the first home zone in the country. The Gateshead Regeneration Partnership's innovative funding structure ensured new hundreds of quality; affordable homes could be built where they were needed most.  

More recently, we have celebrated our rich natural and heritage assets such as the Tyne and Derwent Rivers with the creation of partnerships around Land of Oak and Iron and the Tyne Derwent Way, and investment into the award-winning Saltwell Park and the National Trust's Gibside estate. 

And in the last few years, the council backed the digital and technology clusters in Baltic Quarter, with the building of office and R&D space at Riga and Proto and bringing in the Digital Catapult. Baltic Quarter is also home to the Council's district energy centre, with the country's largest urban solar farm and energy generated from mine water, providing renewable heat and power across the whole of the town centre. 

Gateshead is where the future unfolds

From its iconic heritage to a new, forward-thinking approach to regeneration, Gateshead isn't just evolving, it's redefining the landscape.  

Gateshead ICC Gateshead is the most sustainable location for growth in the North East region, sitting on the south bank of the Tyne, sharing its urban core with Newcastle. We believe that over the next 25 years, Gateshead will once again be at the forefront of innovation and delivering on its huge growth potential on regeneration sites. 

• 20,000 new residents - 20,000 new residents will transform the area into a thriving, vibrant community
• 8,500 new jobs - Gateshead is on track to create 8,500 new jobs, driving economic growth
• 9,500 new homes

A bold vision for regeneration 

We want Gateshead to be a place where everyone thrives. We want it to be a great borough, with vibrant communities, where residents feel supported and live fulfilled lives, businesses can grow, and our environmental impact is minimised. 

Redevelopment of the Town Centre will provide over 4,000 new homes for up to 10,000 new residents who will enjoy a lifestyle that prioritises livability, connectivity, affordability, and sustainability, offering a real opportunity to live a net-zero life. 

The new Conference Centre and Arena on the Gateshead Quays will elevate our international profile and turbocharge the visitor economy, making our town a global destination. By repurposing underused brownfield land around the Metrocentre, in partnership we will create a vibrant riverside community with 3,500 new homes. This revitalised area will embrace new leisure opportunities, making it a perfect place to live, visit and enjoy.  

The infrastructure will be in place to enable Team Valley to become a hotbed of advanced manufacturing, providing the jobs of the future and driving economic growth.  

Our neighbourhoods will have vibrant centres and new affordable homes to support existing communities.  

Every part of the borough will have access to reliable, renewable, affordable energy ensuring a sustainable future for all residents.