Our Ambition for Wallsend is made up of 14 different projects. Some of these are still subject to funding or permissions.
Wallsend Town Square
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The pedestrianised areas next to the Forum Shopping Centre, Customer First Centre (CFC) and Anson Public House are busy routes with seating, bus stops and Hans Schwarz’s Grade II listed Market Woman statue. The paving, planting, seating, bins and bollards are dated and do not provide the high-quality environment this key public space deserves.
One option is for new paving, seating, bins. lighting and bollards, allowing more events such as fairs and markets. Where possible trees, planting and grass will be added to increase biodiversity.
A better setting could be found for the Market Woman statue which is partly hidden by dense planting.
Image is illustrative only
High Street West, High Street East and Station Road
Image is illustrative only
High Street West, the Forum and the Customer First Centre generate the highest number of pedestrians in the town centre, attracted by the shops, cafes, public houses, bank and Post Office. It is a busy route for vehicles and an important bus route.
There is scope to improve the look of High Street West and make it easier for pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users and others to use. Options include:
- Reducing the width of the road and widening the pavements
- Introducing street trees creating year round interest and enhancing biodiversity
- Providing opportunities for outdoor seating for cafes
- New street lighting
- Decluttering by removing unnecessary bollards and upgrading other bollards and street furniture.
If funding can be secured, further engagement will be carried out with shoppers, road users and businesses.
Segedunum World Heritage Site gateway
The open area between Buddle Street and the housing in Wooley Street was hard surfaced in the late 1990s when Segedunum Museum was developed.
From the museum viewing tower you can see that this area was part of the Roman Fort, the infantry barracks. It is quite featureless at ground level and is not the best setting for the housing that fronts onto it and the World Heritage Site opposite.
There is scope to reimagine what this space could look like and change the surfacing to better highlight that this was part of the Fort.
In Buddle Street itself there is scope through coloured or textured road surfacing and Gateway features to show that you are passing through a historic fort, while keeping it open as a key commercial transport route.
These changes would complement the plans to transform the museum and fort site and make sure the two sides of the road are visually linked.
The Forum
The Forum Shopping Centre forms the retail core of the town centre. It is home to national, regional and local retailers along with the Customer First Centre (CFC), providing a broad range of goods and services for the community.
It is a key employment site offering opportunities in retail, hospitality and catering and other services.
The CFC includes the library and the 'Spirit of North Tyneside', the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector hub managed by VODA.
The previous Centre owners, NewRiver, worked with the Council and other partners to develop the CFC, Aldi and Burger King offers and the Hadrian Health Centre which opened in November 2022.
M Core Property acquired The Forum in August 2025 and are reviewing proposals to further revitalise and improve the shopping centre.
Bus and Metro station
Wallsend Bus and Metro Station opened in 1982 in the same year as the Tyne and Wear Metro system was launched.
The bus station has been well served by local bus services and continues to be served by six main bus services, with just over 200 daily departures on weekdays.
As part of changes to bus services it has become more common for buses to miss out the bus station from their route, stopping instead on on Station Road, High Street West and High Street East.
An opportunity to remodel the bus station could include the following:
• Keeping the bus station and introducing new tree and shrub planting to soften its appearance.
• The sustainable travel route , new planting and underpass mural linking to Segedunum Roman Fort (now complete).
• A cycle hub with secure cycle parking for Metro users.
• Some new build housing.
• Ensuring that changes support access to employment opportunities within Wallsend and across the wider Borough.
All of these options will need more detailed feasibility and funding work.
Housing streetscape improvements
The town centre benefits from a large amount of housing on its doorstep, with local residents supporting local shops and services, but improvements are needed.
The terraced housing streets can be split broadly into two types. Type 1 is bigger and in general have front gardens. These streets are found north of High Street East and include Park Road and Laburnum Avenue.
Type 2 are smaller and do not have front gardens. These streets are found south of High Street East and West and include Vine Street and Hugh Street.
A lot of the housing next to the High Street is private rented which can mean poor levels of maintenance and insulation, and poor quality housing conditions for residents. Initiatives to tackle this can include more inspections and enforcement, housing grants, landlord licensing, tenant referencing and addressing anti-social behaviour.
- This specific project addresses the streets themselves and the opportunity to transform them into inclusive, pedestrian friendly streets that:
Provide space for tree and shrub planting - Create opportunities for children to play
- Reduce the dominance of the private car while future proofing to accommodate electric vehicle infrastructure
- Improves the walking and cycling experience and ensures that people feel safe
- Improve the condition of the back lanes and frontages.
Cycle corridors
The UK’s most popular long distance cycle route, the C2C, passes through the heart of Wallsend and, in one stretch, between its internationally famous sites of Segedunum and the former Swan Hunter shipyard.
There is an opportunity to improve the route’s look and feel, improve lighting and provide new facilities such as a cycle hub, safe and secure cycle parking, cycle hire and servicing. A logical site would be close to Segedunum Museum and its proposed new ground floor café.
The C2C (which incorporates Route 72/Hadrian’s Cycleway) is an east–west route through Wallsend but there are limited connections north-south between the town centre, riverside, parks, the Coast Road and waggonways.
A funding allocation from the North East Combined Authority has been secured for active travel and public realm improvements in and around Wallsend and the town centre. There will be engagement about the proposals with residents and businesses in late 2025.
Historic buildings and conservation
Wallsend is home to several landmark buildings which are architecturally and historically important as well as being much loved by generations of Wallsend residents. These buildings include the Town Hall and the Memorial Hall (the MEM) which are both in use and cared for.
There are others which need to be put to new uses.
The first is Wallsend Civic Hall, a Grade II listed building in the heart of the Green Conservation Area which is a key part of the Wallsend public parks.
The Hall, which was rebuilt in 1812 has been owned by North Tyneside Council and its predecessors since 1916 and has most recently been leased out for use as a wedding venue and for other events.
The second is ‘the Buddle’ which is now privately owned, and was a school for over 100 years before being transformed into a community arts centre in the 1980s.
The third is the privately owned Coach and Horses in High Street East which is also privately owned. This has been vacant for a number of years and the Council is investigating what it could do to help bring this Grade II listed building back into use.