Our North Tyneside Plan 2025-2029, where everyone has the opportunity to live well and succeed
Foreword
Elected Mayor of North Tyneside Karen Clark
I am proud to introduce the Our North Tyneside Plan 2025-2029; a shared vision for an even better North Tyneside, shaped by the people who call it home.
North Tyneside is a place with enormous strengths and incredible people, and it is a privilege to serve each and every person.
We have a strong sense of community, a proud history and a bright future. Every day I see examples of the warmth, resilience and determination that makes this such a great place to live, work and visit. Our people care deeply about each other and about the future of their towns, villages and coast.
We begin this journey knowing that we face real challenges, however we have many opportunities and strengths to build upon.
Like many, we are working in the context of tighter finances. I have listened to residents who tell me they are still feeling the effects of rising costs and inequality. We cannot ignore those realities, but neither will we be defined by them. The strength of North Tyneside has always been its people, and when we face challenges, we face them together.
Working together across communities, businesses, public services and the voluntary sector runs through everything we do. It is through this partnership and shared purpose, that we can make the biggest difference.
This Plan is for everyone: young people ambitious for their future; working families who want the best for their children; businesses who want to grow and invest here; single people and couples looking to get on to the property ladder and older people, who want to live in accessible and connected communities.
At the heart of this Plan are five ambitions.
• Better lives for all
• The best start in life
• Places to be proud of
• Good work and economic growth, and
• Housing and neighbourhoods that enhance lives.
These ambitions reflect what residents and partners have told us matter most, and they will guide everything we do.
I am committed to tackling inequalities and creating a fair and healthy Borough for all, focusing on good-quality jobs and decent pay, housing and education.
This Plan will act on the priorities that our residents have told us matter to them, such as safe and clean streets, responsive repairs to roads and pavements, activities and opportunities for children and young people and the best possible quality of care and support to those who need it.
By continuing to listen, care and stay ambitious, we will build an even better North Tyneside — a place where everyone has the chance to live their best life.
Welcome to the Our North Tyneside Plan
Our ambition for an Even Better North Tyneside, is built on the many strengths of our outstanding people, rich cultural heritage, vibrant commercial sectors and award-winning outdoor spaces.
We know North Tyneside is already a great place to live, work and visit for many. Our challenge is to make it a place where every single person has the chance to live well, and where every neighbourhood feels connected, welcoming and able to realise its potential.
That’s why over the course of this Plan, we will work with the Institute of Health Equity to become a Marmot Place, which means making sure everyone has the opportunity for good physical and mental health, by improving things like jobs, housing education and community safety; making things better for everyone, not just a few.
This Plan sets out five bold ambitions; each has a set of priorities that will help us deliver on those ambitions.
We will only achieve these ambitions by working both for and with our communities, public sector partners, the community and voluntary sector and businesses. For its part the council will deliver modern and accountable services, that make the very best use of every pound of public money spent.
About this plan
This Plan was built from the commitments of the Elected Mayor of North Tyneside, first shared in May 2025.
From June to September 2025, the council and its North Tyneside Strategic Partnership, carried out the Big Community Conversation and listened to over 1,300 people, businesses and partners about their aspirations for North Tyneside and this Plan.
We are grateful for their contribution and passion shown for our Borough; every one of those views has been considered in developing this Plan.
Vision
An even better North Tyneside, where everyone can live their best life – rooted in strong, vibrant neighbourhoods, fair access to opportunity and public services that work for all.
Priorities
How we’ll deliver our ambitions and what you can expect to see.
Better lives for all
- Working with local people and partners and the Institute of Health Equity, to become a Marmot place, helping everyone – no matter their background, live a longer and healthier life
- Modernising our Council Tax Support Scheme so that it cuts bills for over 15,000 households
- Tackling poverty by working with people to prevent them from falling into hardship and providing them with timely support when they need it most
- Supporting those who need care and those who care for them, with the best possible personalised and quality services, as close to home as possible
- Collaborating with the community and voluntary sector as true partners, who know their neighbourhoods and communities best
Best start in life
- Introducing Best Start Family Hubs to provide even more joined-up approaches for health, parenting, early education and wellbeing; making it easier for families to get the help they need close to home
- Supporting our schools to deliver world-class education, and ensuring there are opportunities and activities for children and young people outside of the school day
- Developing employment pathways and post-16 support for young people, including working with schools and colleges to review and improve sixth-form provision in North Shields
- Directly delivering more of our care services, so our children and young people are supported close to home and stay connected with their communities
- Investing in the talent, skills and training of our young people, including a unique work experience offer
Places to be proud of
- Increasing opportunities for households to reuse - including opening a new household waste recycling centre, and new food waste recycling for every home
- Continuing to work with partners towards North Tyneside being carbon net zero, minimising the negative impact of the lived environment on our communities
- Making sure our neighbourhoods and streets are safe and secure for everyone, by tackling anti-social behaviour with the Police and promoting zero tolerance of harm and violence to all
- Continuing the investment in our beautiful open spaces, with sustainable travel options and care for our parks, wagonways and beaches
- Acting on the concerns of residents, ensuring streets, roads and pavements are regularly cleaned and cared for, showing pride in our neighbourhoods and communities
Good work for all and economic growth
- Bringing more jobs to North Tyneside by supporting businesses, established and emerging, to thrive
- Championing good quality work and a decent level of pay for all
- Investing in skills and training, making North Tyneside a leader in offshore wind and renewable energy along the Tyne
- Working with the North East Combined Authority to improve transport connectivity, safety and reliability in North Tyneside
- Working with communities to complete the regeneration of the Borough
Housing and neighbourhoods that enhance lives
- Building a further 3,000 houses, on top of the 2,500 already committed, providing affordable and good quality homes that meet the needs of our growing communities
- Spending an additional £2m of council funding each year on fixing roads and pavements, enhancing the quality, accessibility and appeal of the Borough
- Making North Tyneside somewhere that works even better for older people, by becoming part of the World Health Organisation’s Age-Friendly network, supporting better health, connection and independence
- Keeping our libraries and leisure services open, and delivering a vibrant mix of cultural events and activities
- Securing funding to help households improve energy efficiency and reduce fuel costs
Change and Innovation
We’re committed to delivering public services that meet people’s needs today, whilst building a stronger, fairer future for everyone. That’s why we are reshaping how services work, guided by four key principles.
Prevention
We believe in acting early. This means supporting people, families and communities to stay healthy, safe, independent and resilient — reducing the need for more intensive, sometimes invasive or costly services later on.
Personalisation
One size doesn’t fit all. Our services aim to treat everyone as an individual — listening to what matters most to them and working together to find the right support at the right time. We want people to have more choice, voice and control in the services they use and get more involved in local decision making.
Productivity
We are committed to using every pound wisely. That means improving how we work, cutting waste, using technology well and working in partnership — so we get the best value for money and best possible outcomes.
Proportionate
We want to ensure everyone benefits from universal services like health, education and community safety — but we also recognise that some people need extra help. We will target support where it’s needed most, to reduce inequality and improve fairness across our Borough.
Working Together
The way we work with people, communities and partners is just as important as the services we deliver.
The council has four core values.
- We listen; services driven by insight by listening to feedback
- We care; people, not organisations first and acting on concerns
- We are ambitious; for our people, our Borough and council, and
- We are value for money; smarter spending for lasting impact
We believe that the people who live and work in North Tyneside know their neighbourhoods best. That’s why we are determined to work with communities, to shape the places we all care about.
We want every neighbourhood to thrive, this means listening to what matters most to local people, supporting communities to lead change, and making it easier for everyone to get involved in local decisions.
By building strong, trusting relationships, taking decisions together and making the most of local knowledge and strengths, we can create fairer and more connected communities — now and for the future.
Together, we will make North Tyneside Even Better.
Delivering and Monitoring this Plan
This Plan sets the vision and priorities for North Tyneside over the next four years.
The Authority’s Organisational Business Plan describes how the Plan is monitored, including key strategies and plans used to monitor delivery and track progress.
A set of measures linked to the priorities in the Plan, North Tyneside Resident’s Survey and national Local Government Outcome’s Framework, will track and share progress of the Plan.
Progress will be shared with residents and partners.