Member Article

Major demolition in riverside regeneration

The regeneration of a Tyneside town is moving on with the scheduled demolition of one of South Shields’ ‘major eyesores’. The former Circatex plant has stood empty since it closed over two years ago, but is now destined to be torn down at the end of this year as part of the South Shields Riverside project.

The Riverside project will see the creation of five new neighbourhoods running along the river from South Shields town centre. By opening up the waterfront the regeneration project aims to reconnect the town centre and communities with the riverside.

The Circatex building was originally built for Plessey and in its heyday was an important local employer under various different companies, with 2,000 people working there at its peak.

Neil Graham, Head of Regeneration North for One NorthEast, said: “The removal of the former Circatex plant is a major milestone in this project, but just as importantly it removes a derelict building from the South Shields riverside that has become a blot on the landscape since it closed down over two years ago and will turn it into an exciting development opportunity.

“Residents can be assured that while it is a lengthy process all efforts will be made to ensure demolition and decontamination work has the minimum amount of impact on them.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .