Gateshead council shrinks high street south regeneration to speed up project

GATESHEAD COUNCIL HAS VOWED TO GET THE DEVELOPMENT UNDER WAY WITH A SMALLER BUT MORE FOCUSED AREA OF IMMEDIATE REGENERATION 18:07, 13 May 2025 Gateshead Council is due to downsize the

regeneration of the High Street South area to speed up the project. Local authority bosses are due to sign off a “revised” boundary for a project aimed to revitalise central Gateshead.

Council documents claim the new shrunken scale of the project would provide “the best use of council capital funding”. Plans for the overhaul of the High Street South area were unveiled back

in 2019, including proposals for multiple new commercial venues and 700 new homes. However, the original project was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and was subject to criticism by

opposition councillors who said the project was moving “at a snail's pace” just last year. Council Leader, Coun Martin Gannon, said: “It is about wanting to get on and do this, that’s

the issue. There have been comments in the past. “But we have had to go through a long and laborious process of acquiring properties. We have concluded a number of these discussions, we have

acquired the majority.” Coun Gannon continued: “To get progress and move at pace it is not massively reduced but it is concentrated on getting that redevelopment started. The rest of the

site will be, I am sure, once the newly designated redevelopment site is completed and development plans and developers are approved and in place that the rest of the site will be viable.”

Article continues below According to council documents, the authority has acquired nine properties within the new site and the local authority is currently negotiating with seven other

property owners, while 14 properties remain in place. A release from the council stipulates that compulsory purchase powers will be a last resort. As for the previously included part of the

regeneration scheme, documents state: “For present purposes they are no longer proposed to be acquired by the Council whether by agreement or by the use of compulsory purchase powers.” While

the project was paused in 2020, it was designated as a "delayed project" with a budget of £1.7m over three years. In February 2022, following a post-Covid review into the

council’s funds, a new project budget of £13m was approved to obtain property on High Street South. Coun Leigh Kirton, cabinet member for economy and communications, said: "The Council

is committed to delivering this exciting regeneration project for Gateshead and will make the necessary resources available to make it happen. Article continues below "The new revised

boundary and phasing will enable the Council to accelerate the project timeframe and minimise the period of disruption to nearby residents and businesses. ' JOIN OUR BREAKING NEWS AND

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