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Work begins on major Gateshead development.

Image provided by retail analyst Graham Soult: http://www.soultsretailview.co.uk

1000 new jobs are set to be created in Gateshead, after work on a major redevelopment of the town got underway yesterday.

The £150million development is the largest of its kind outside of London, and will transform the area previously occupied by the famous ‘Get Carter’ car park.

The Trinity Square development will include a shopping centre and indoor market, and the current `Tesco store. There will also be a health centre, offices and a student village with almost 1,000 beds.

The project will take 3 years to complete, and measures have already been put in place to help local people access these jobs.

Leader of Gateshead Council, Mick Henry, was on site yesterday to formally inaugurate the work.

Councillor Henry said: “This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for… this is the start of a bright new future for central Gateshead. We’ve been working long and hard to see this day come about and now the tangible evidence of this huge redevelopment really starts to appear.

“The very fact that this development is going ahead in the current economic climate when many others are not speaks volumes for the standing that Gateshead now has in terms of development.

“The credibility we’ve gained by successfully completing projects like the Angel of the North, Baltic, Gateshead Millennium Bridge and The Sage Gateshead, has directly led to this development.”

Spenhill, a subsidiary of Tesco will be completing the work, and Andy Lloyd, a representative firm the firm was there.

He added: “The Trinity Square project is very significant in both North East and UK terms. Spenhill’s investment in Gateshead will bring a new vibrancy to the town centre as well as a major jobs boost for long-term unemployed.

“It is fantastic that local people will now be able to see the first stages of construction and watch the development start to take shape - this is a very exciting time for the Gateshead community.”

The first part of construction will now begin with the foundations and structural steel frame, before moving onto brickwork and stonework.

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