£150m Gateshead regeneration will create 1000 jobs

A £150m regeneration to develop Gateshead town centre will create over 1000 jobs for the area.

The Trinity Square development in Gateshead has attracted a host of national retailers eager to open stores there.

National Sports retailer Sports Direct founded by billionaire owner of Newcastle United, Mike Ashley, along with entertainment dealer CEX, are among the latest names to be confirmed.

They will sit alongside Tesco, cinema operators Vue, Phones 4U, Costa Coffee and a host of other high street names as part of the project, the biggest of its kind in Britain outside London.

Stephen Henderson, director at Savills, the letting agents for Trinity Square said: “The introduction of Sports Direct to Trinity Square Gateshead is the latest indication showing the appetite from national retailers wanted to be located there.

“At least 72 percent of the development will be pre-let by the opening on 23 May and we will soon be announcing a number of other national retail and leisure operators.”

Over a thousand jobs are being created by the scheme, which is transforming a large part of Gateshead Town Centre and is expected to deliver a massive boost to the area’s economy.

Trinity Square opens on 23 May and the first of these freshly announced stores will be operating in time for the opening.

The current list of stores includes, Tesco Extra, Vue, Costa Coffee, Phones4U, Greggs, Sports Direct, CEX and Ladbrokes.

Tesco Corporate Affairs Manager, Doug Wilson, said: “The confirmation of Sports Direct and CEX stores in Trinity Square will prove another powerful draw for shoppers with the opening of the development less than a month away.

“There is a real sense of anticipation building in the town for the opening of Trinity Square, which will transform the heart of Gateshead.”

Alongside the new stores and restaurants a new health centre has just opened and accommodation for almost 1,000 Northumbria University students will open next year.

A new public square has been built and the development features offices and car parking for 700 vehicles as well as being sited directly opposite one of the region’s busiest public transport interchanges.

Leader of Gateshead Council, Mick Henry, said: “These new stores and restaurants bring with them new jobs and a boost to our economy, but they actually mean much, much more than that.

“They are evidence that our long term aims are coming to fruition, to transform the centre of Gateshead into a more modern and vibrant place where people will want to come right around the clock.

“Soon we’ll all be able to see shoppers strolling through new streets popping into new shops, cafés and restaurants with people sitting with friends and family in a bright new public square.

“And before long they will be heading to the cinema to see the latest blockbuster.

“Very soon this will all be a daily reality; one that many thought they’d never see in the centre of Gateshead.”