Cash boost for town hall's regeneration

£22M AIMED AT SPEEDING UP KEY PROJECTS ACROSS REGION

- By DANIEL HOLLAND Local democracy reporter

A REGENERATION of Gateshead’s Old Town Hall has been handed a multimillion-pound boost.

Plans to breathe fresh life into the derelict town hall are included in a £22m cash injection from North East mayor Kim McGuinness, aimed at speeding up a series of key house-building 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 £3.4m to put towards the scheme, which it is hoped can be built by 2030. Elsewhere, a further £5.1m 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 £4.8m is earmarked for a regeneration of Walker in the east end of Newcastle.