North Tyneside is a

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...

in the

metropolitan county Metropolitan counties are a Subdivisions of England, subdivision of England which were originally used for Local government in England, local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyn ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It forms part of the greater

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park,

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

. North Tyneside is bordered by

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

to the west, the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

to the east, the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...

to the south and

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

to the north. Within its bounds are the towns of Wallsend,

North Shields North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom cens ...

, Killingworth,

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

and Whitley Bay, which form a continuously built-up area contiguous with

History

The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the county borough of

, with the borough of

, part of the borough of Whitley Bay, the urban district of Longbenton and part of the urban district of

Seaton Valley Seaton Valley is a civil parish at the south eastern corner of Northumberland, and northern North Tyneside, consisting of five villages lying between Cramlington, Blyth, Northumberland, Blyth and Whitley Bay. The largest village is Seaton Delav ...

, all of which were in

. Killingworth was built as a

new town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

in the 1960s and became part of North Tyneside.

Geography

The following places are located in North Tyneside: * Annitsford *

Backworth Backworth is a village in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England, about west of Whitley Bay on the north east coast. It lies northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne. Other nearby towns include North Shie ...

* Battle Hill * Benton * Burradon * Camperdown * Cullercoats *

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

* Earsdon * Forest Hall *

Holystone Holystone is a soft and brittle sandstone that was formerly used in the Royal Navy and US Navy for scrubbing and whitening the wooden decks of ships. A variety of origins have been proposed for the term, including that such stones were taken fro ...

* Howdon * Killingworth * Longbenton * Meadow Well * Monkseaton * Moorside * Murton * New York *

* Northumberland Park * Palmersville * Percy Main * Preston * Seaton Burn * Shiremoor *

* Wellfield * West Allotment * West Moor * Whitley Bay *

Willington Quay Willington Quay is an area in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear in northern England. It is on the north bank of the River Tyne, facing Jarrow, and between Wallsend and North Shields. It is served by the Howdon Metro station in Howdo ...

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.

Governance

Unlike most English districts, North Tyneside Council is led by a directly elected mayor; since May 2013, this post has been held by Norma Redfearn of the Labour Party. She was most recently elected on 6 May 2021. The council has sixty elected members, three from each of the twenty wards in the borough.

Elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

are staggered into thirds, with one councillor from each ward elected each year for three consecutive years, and the mayoral election held on the fourth year. North Tyneside is part of the

North East Mayoral Combined Authority The North East Combined Authority (NECA) is a combined authority in North East England. It has a directly-elected Mayor and seven member councils: two are unitary authorities ( Durham and Northumberland) and five are metropolitan borough counc ...

, which is chaired by the directly elected

Mayor of the North East The mayor of the North East is a Combined authorities and combined county authorities, combined authority mayor. The mayor is the leader of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority. The current mayor is Kim McGuinness, 2024 North East mayoral ele ...

; there are therefore two directly elected mayors covering North Tyneside. The combined authority was established in 2024 covering North Tyneside,

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

South Tyneside South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is bordered by all four other boroughs in Tyne and Wear: Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, North Tyneside to the north and Newcastl ...

and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

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 Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

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, 5.1% compared to 3.7% for the UK in 2022).

Transport

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 The Tyne Tunnel is the name given to a pair of two-lane vehicular toll tunnels under the River Tyne in North East England. Originally opened in 1967 and expanded in 2011, the tunnels connect the town of Jarrow on the south bank of the river with ...

Teesside Teesside () is an urban area around the River Tees in North East England. Straddling the border between County Durham and North Yorkshire, it spans the boroughs of Borough of Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, Stockton ...

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 and 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 National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...

stations in the borough, despite the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its northern terminus at and southern terminus at . The key towns and cities of , , , , and are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Grea ...

and Blyth and Tyne routes passing through. The nearest National Rail stations are Cramlington, Manors and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, 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 Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United Kingdom. ...

(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. There is an international ferry terminal at Royal Quays in North Shields, with a service to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

( IJmuiden).

Places of interest

Segedunum Roman Fort and Baths - geograph

* Segedunum Roman fort is in Wallsend (at the end of

Hadrian's wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

). *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

, 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

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees. Television signals are received from the Pontop Pike TV transmitter

Radio

Radio stations that broadcast to the area are: BBC Local Radio * BBC Radio Newcastle

Independent Radio Independent radio indicates a radio station that are run in a manner,different from usual from the countries it broadcasts in. Conversely, in places such as the United States, where commercial broadcasters are the norm, independent radio is some ...

Heart North East Heart North East is a regional radio broadcasting, radio station owned and operated by Global Group, Global as part of the Heart (radio network), Heart network. It broadcasts to North East England. History Century Radio Century Radio was the ...

* Capital North East * Smooth Radio North East *

Greatest Hits Radio North East Greatest Hits Radio North East is an Independent Local Radio station, based in Newcastle, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to North East England. History Great North Radio (a ...

* Hits Radio North East *Affinity Radio

Newspapers

The area is served by the local newspaper, '' Evening Chronicle''.

Twinned towns

North Tyneside is twinned with: * Oer-Erkenschwick in Germany *

Halluin Halluin (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography It is located at the north of the Métropole Européenne de Lille, on the Belgium, Belgian border ...

in France

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of North Tyneside.

Individuals

* Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, better known as Sting : 9 November 2023

Military Units

* 216 squadron (Tyne/Tees) Squadron Royal Corps of Transport (Volunteers) now 216 Tynemouth Squadron RLC. 23 February 1972. *

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. Membership Service in th ...

(Whitley Bay and Forest Hall Branches): 15 October 2009. * 2344 (Longbenton) Squadron

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...

: 16 December 2014.

References

External links

{{Authority control Metropolitan boroughs of Tyne and Wear