Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead

The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It includes Gateshead, Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon, Ryton, Felling, Birtley, Pelaw, Dunston and Low Fell. The borough forms part of the Tyneside conurbation, centred on Newcastle upon Tyne. At the 2021 census, the borough had a population of 196,154.

It is bordered by the local authority areas of Newcastle upon Tyne to the north, Northumberland to the west, County Durham to the south, Sunderland to the south-east, and South Tyneside to the east. The council is a member of the North East Combined Authority.

History

The town of Gateshead was an ancient borough, having been granted a charter in 1164 from Hugh Pudsey, the Bishop of Durham. The borough's functions were relatively limited until 1836, when it was made a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. When elected county councils were created in 1889, Gateshead was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it was made a county borough, independent from the new Durham County Council, whilst remaining part of the geographical county of Durham.

The modern borough of Gateshead was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as one of five metropolitan boroughs within the new county of Tyne and Wear. The borough covered the whole area of five former districts and part of a sixth, which were all abolished at the same time:

• Blaydon Urban District
• Chester-le-Street Rural District (parishes of Birtley and Lamesley only)
• Felling Urban District
• Gateshead County Borough
• Ryton Urban District
• Whickham Urban District

Aside from Gateshead, the other districts had all been lower-tier district authorities subordinate to Durham County Council prior to the 1974 reforms.

From 1974 until 1986 the borough council was a lower-tier district authority, with Tyne and Wear County Council providing county-level services. The county council was abolished in 1986, since when the borough council has provided both district-level and county-level services, as the old county borough of Gateshead had done prior to 1974. Some functions are provided across Tyne and Wear by joint committees with the other districts. The county of Tyne and Wear continues to exist as a ceremonial county for the purposes of lieutenancy, but has had no administrative functions since 1986.

Governance

Since 1986, Gateshead Council has provided both district-level and county-level functions, with some services being provided through joint arrangements with the other Tyne and Wear councils. In 2024 a combined authority was established covering Gateshead, County Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland, called the North East Mayoral Combined Authority. It is chaired by the directly elected Mayor of the North East and oversees the delivery of certain strategic functions across the area.

There is one civil parish in the borough at Lamesley, which forms an additional tier of local government for its area; the rest of the borough is unparished. Birtley was also a civil parish with a town council until it was abolished in 2006.

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the modern borough's creation in 1974.

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Gateshead. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2002 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in May 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2004 the council has comprised 66 councillors representing 22 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office.

The wards are:

Premises

The council is based at the Civic Centre on Regent Street, which was purpose-built for the council and was completed in 1987.

Prior to 1987 the council had been based at the Town Hall on West Street, which had been completed in 1870 for the old Gateshead Borough Council.

Parliamentary constituencies

In national government the borough contains two parliamentary constituencies, Gateshead and Blaydon. The Gateshead constituency covers the centre and east of the borough. The MP, first elected in 2010, is Ian Mearns (Labour). The Blaydon constituency covers the west of the borough and Birtley to the south, and has been represented since 2017 by Liz Twist, also for Labour. The Jarrow constituency takes in the very eastern tip of the borough, including Pelaw. It is represented by Kate Osborne (Labour).

Political conferences

Gateshead has hosted two major political conferences. The first of these was Labour's spring conference, ahead of the 2005 general election. The Conservatives also held a conference at the Sage Gateshead in March 2008. The Conservatives do not have any councillors in Gateshead and at the time only had one MP in the whole of the north east region. That conference was seen as an attempt to connect to voters in the area.

Education

Gateshead has a number of schools across the borough at both primary and secondary level. Results are well above average, with a number of outstanding schools. Gateshead has amongst the best primary and secondary schools in the country overall. A range of schools are present in Gateshead, including Jewish, Roman Catholic, Church of England, Methodist, and non-religious state schools. There is one independent school in the borough, Chase school in Whickham. Further independent schools can be found in Newcastle, Sunderland, and Tynedale.

Gateshead town itself has a further education college, Gateshead College, and a leading Jewish higher education institution, Beth Midrash Lemoroth — Jewish Teachers Training College.

Environment

Gateshead has a variety of landscapes, urban and industrial areas include the town itself, Whickham and Blaydon in the west, with more semi-rural and rural locations in the west including Ryton and Rowlands Gill. Overall though, it is a fairly green area with over half of the borough being green belt or countryside. Most of this is located away from built up Tyneside to the south of the borough into Derwentside/Chester-le-Street and to the west into Tynedale.

In total, there are over twenty countryside sites in the borough, from ancient meadows and woodland to local nature reserves.

Notable features of Gateshead's countryside include Ryton Willows, found at Old Ryton Village on the banks of the Tyne at Ryton. Ryton Willows is 43 hectares of locally rare grassland and ponds located near to an affluent village with Georgian and Victorian houses. Because of this it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The Derwent Valley, in the south/south west of the borough, offers panoramic views and pleasant walks. It was in the Derwent Valley, near Rowlands Gill, that the Northern Kites Project re-introduced red kites. This was part of a national project to introduce the birds, that were once so commonplace across the country, back into the wild. This scheme has proven to be a success, with birds being spotted across the west of the borough, from Crawcrook to Rowlands Gill itself.

The borough also contains one National Trust site, the expansive Gibside estate near Rowlands Gill, containing a stately home and a chapel, parts of its grounds have also been given SSSI status.

Even in the more urban areas of the borough, in Gateshead itself and to the east, efforts have been made to maintain green spaces and wildlife sites. One such project is Bill Quay Community Farm, east of the borough. Offering a rural experience within an urban setting, it provides an important educational tool for local schools.

Religion

The 2001 census stated that the borough's predominant religion was 80.25% Christian. Other statistics found 10.94% of no religion, 6.94 unstated, 0.82% Jewish and 0.60% Muslim.

The 2011 census, stated that the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead was 67.0% Christian, 0.9% Muslim, 1.5% Jewish, 23.9% were not religious and 5.7% of the population refused to state their religion.

Economy

The area was once dependent on heavy industry such as steel making in the Derwent Valley and coal mining (across the borough). Shipbuilding on the Tyne was also a major source of employment. However, with the decline of these industries, Gateshead has attempted to re-invent itself. Although there are significant areas of deprivation in the borough, particularly in the centre and east, a number of towns and villages in the borough are popular with commuters and professionals who are employed in the service industry and well paid areas of the secondary sector such as engineering (which remains a major source of employment). Such commuter areas include Ryton, Rowlands Gill, Whickham and Low Fell. The borough is host to Tyne Yard, a major rail freight yard serving the North East.

Gateshead Quayside, once dominated by industry, has benefited from significant investment and gentrification in the past decade. It is now home to the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and the Sage Gateshead.

The area is also an important retail hub, with the largest shopping centre in the European Union, and second largest in Europe as a whole, the MetroCentre, situated adjacent to the A1 trunk road. Further retail, and a significant number of engineering companies are located in the Team Valley Trading Estate, which at one time was the largest industrial estate in Europe.

Arts and culture

Gateshead is home to the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and the Sage Gateshead. The Anthony Gormley structure, the Angel of the North (the largest free standing sculpture in the United Kingdom) is in Gateshead. This puts Gateshead at the forefront of the arts both regionally and nationally.

The Shipley Art Gallery, housing outstanding collections of contemporary craft, studio ceramics, paintings and decorative art, is managed by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums on behalf of Gateshead Council. Gateshead is a library authority and within its Central Library is a large venue facility called the Caedmon Hall.

Sports

Gateshead has an association football team, Gateshead F.C., who play in the English National League. They play at the Gateshead International Stadium, which also hosts athletics.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people have received the Freedom of the Borough of Gateshead:

• Jonathan Edwards: 24 November 2000.
• Brendan Foster: 20 November 2004.
• Mike Neville: 12 October 2006.
• Baroness Quin of Gateshead: 12 October 2006.
• Lord Burlison of Rowlands Gill : 12 October 2006.
• Robert Moncur: 22 January 2009.
• David Almond: 10 February 2011.
• David Clelland: 10 February 2011.
• Sir John Hall: 10 February 2011.
• Professor Paul Younger: 8 November 2011.
• Sir Antony Gormley: 24 July 2012.
• Alan J. Smith: 24 July 2012.
• Stephen Miller: 25 June 2013.
• Jill Halfpenny: 7 November 2013
• Lord Puttnam: 26 March 2015.
• David Olusoga: 4 December 2023.
• Mick Henry: 4 December 2023.

In addition, freedom was granted to 72 Engineer Regiment on 9 July 2011.

References