High street task force pledges 'radical change'

COMMISSION BEGINS ITS WORK TO HALT DECLINE

- By DANIEL HOLLAND

RADICAL changes to revive “fading” North East high streets have been promised through a new task force which met for the first time.

A high streets commission, launched by North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, held its inaugural meeting in South Shields on Thursday as communities across the region were told to expect tangible improvements that will breathe fresh life into areas which have suffered decades of decline.

The panel of experts, for whom Sunderland-born TV architect George Clarke will act as a high-profile ambassador, are expected to identify a handful of “beacon” locations to receive substantial public funds, in the hope of attracting further private investment and acting as models for sustainable, long-term change.

On a tour of Ocean Road and King Street in South Shields town centre, where it is hoped the relocation of South Tyneside College will act as a catalyst for regeneration, Newcastle Building Society chief executive Andrew Haigh said the commission was “not about coming in and putting a lick of paint on something, it is about changing the economy and changing how we see the high street”.