North Tyneside Council’s Cabinet has approved bold plans for the North West of the Borough, creating attractive places to live, new opportunities for work and business, and inspiring spaces to play and visit.
Ambition for the North West is part of North Tyneside Council’s Our North Tyneside Plan, which has brought forward Borough-wide regeneration schemes including Ambition for North Shields and Ambition for Wallsend.
Ambition for the North West projects include improvements to Killingworth Lakeside Park, new village plans, enhancing the waggonways network, transport plans and inner area plans.
Killingworth Lake will be developed into a destination park for locals and visitors with ecology-friendly landscaping. There will be a new play site, better parking, new street furniture and entrance features, and improved cycle and pedestrian routes. Tree management and new planting will enhance biodiversity, and a new café hub will be explored if funding becomes available.
The Council has been consulting with residents on village plans for Killingworth, Annitsford, Dudley, Fordley, Camperdown, Burradon, Wideopen and Seaton Burn, to be published in October 2025. Village plan projects include new signage, landscaping, and opportunities for public art at the main entrances of each village. There will be improvements to Fryer's Millennium Green in Burradon and Keegan Park in Killingworth, and support for the Friends of Annitsford Pond group.
There will be a focus on pride of place, with environmental services working to support housing estates, tackling litter and removing weeds.
Access to services such as adult education will be improved, and support offered to community banking initiatives. The Council will work with partners to create better community facilities in Seaton Burn and Burradon.
The historic waggonways network that connects the North West villages will get a refresh. Surfaces and drainage will be upgraded to make the routes more accessible, with better connections from nearby villages. Seating areas, signage and information boards will be added, along with nature and heritage trails.
The transport strategy for the North West of the Borough will bring together transport operators, the voluntary sector and other partners to improve public transport links. The Council will work with the North East Combined Authority on the feasibility of a new station on the East Coast Main Line in the Killingworth area, improve active travel routes and explore options for cleaner and shared vehicles.
Plans for the North West inner area, which covers Forest Hall, West Moor, Benton, Longbenton, Palmersville and Holystone, are being drawn up, and residents will be consulted on these in spring 2025.
Councillor Carl Johnson, Deputy Mayor for North Tyneside and cabinet member responsible for Regeneration, Culture and Economic Development said: “Our Ambition for the North West has been guided by our residents. We have been listening carefully to what they want for their area through a series of consultation events and we would like to thank everyone who took part.
“People told us they wanted to see improvements to transport, better access to local services, and more care for their environment. These plans achieve all those goals, and there are exciting changes on the way to make Killingworth Lakeside Park and the waggonways network more attractive places for local people and visitors to enjoy spending time.
“The North West of North Tyneside is already a great place to live, and people in the area are rightly proud of their industrial and mining heritage, beautiful green spaces and close communities. Our Ambition for the North West builds on that, and I am delighted to see these plans approved by Cabinet.”
