Major boost for Old Town Hall restoration

REGENERATION of Gateshead's Old Town Hall has been handed a multi-million pound boost.

- DANIEL HALL

Plans to breathe fresh life into the derelict town hall are included in a £22 million cash injection from North East mayor Kim McGuinness, aimed at speeding up a series of key housebuilding projects across the region.

Manchester-based developers Capital&Centric snapped up the building in 2024 and want to create 243 homes at the site, the transformation of which is viewed as critical to the wider aims of improving Gateshead town centre.

The mayor is awarding Gateshead Council £3.4 million to put towards the scheme, which it is hoped can be built by 2030.

Elsewhere, a further £5.1 million will be put into the redevelopment of Sunderland's riverside.

That money will be used to acquire and unlock land for a mixture of 89 energy-efficient homes and commercial space, in phase two of the Sheepfolds neighbourhood.

Around £4.8 million is earmarked for a regeneration of Walker in the east end of Newcastle.

Newcastle City Council wants to see 451 new homes, including 137 for affordable rent or purchase, built on sites including the land where the former Hexham House and Titan House tower blocks once stood.