South Tyneside Council teams with North East LEP to deliver £21m interchange

South Tyneside Council and partners have celebrated a milestone with the ‘topping out’ of a multi-million pound facility.

The roof of South Shields’ new transport interchange has now been installed. The £21m building will bring together a modern bus station and relocated Metro station.

The interchange forms Phase Two of the £100m South Shields 365 regeneration masterplan. The project received £9.4m from the Local Growth Deal through the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP).

Councillor Iain Malcolm, leader of South Tyneside Council, said: “We’ve been watching this building take shape since construction started in April and it’s fantastic to see our plans coming to fruition.

“Now that the steel structure of the building is up and the roof is in place we are starting to see what an impressive gateway into our revitalised town this facility is going to be.

“Work is progressing on schedule and within less than a year the interchange will be welcoming its first passengers.”

The council is working with partners Muse Developments and Nexus, and construction contractor Bowmer and Kirkland, to deliver the project.

David Wells, regional director at Muse Developments, added: “It’s great to join our partners on site, to mark this important milestone in the progress and delivery of this fantastic facility.

“This project with the council highlights what can be achieved when the best of both the public and private sector work together.”

The building has been constructed with 175 tonnes of locally-fabricated steel. Work is ongoing to make it watertight and to install cladding and insulation before the internal fit-out, including dry lining, tiling and decoration begins.

The interchange is scheduled for completion summer 2019. Demolition of the existing Metro station will be completed following the construction of the interchange.

Planning permission was granted in 2015 for the transport interchange, as well as outline planning permission for phase three, new retail and leisure development.