North Tyneside

The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the county borough of Tynemouth, with the borough of Wallsend, part of the borough of Whitley Bay, the urban district of Longbenton and part of the urban district of Seaton Valley, all of which were in Northumberland. Killingworth was built as a new town in the 1960s and became part of North Tyneside.

The following places are located in North Tyneside:

North Tyneside is split by the A19: the west of the borough is more urban, and is mostly contiguous with the city of Newcastle. The towns in the east of the borough are more separate from the central part of the Newcastle urban area. Many of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Tyne and Wear are found in the coastal part of the borough.

Unlike most English districts, North Tyneside Council is led by a directly elected mayor; since May 2013, this post has been held by Norma Redfearn of the Labour Party. She was most recently elected on 6 May 2021.

The council has sixty elected members, three from each of the twenty wards in the borough. Elections are staggered into thirds, with one councillor from each ward elected each year for three consecutive years, and the mayoral election held on the fourth year.

North Tyneside is part of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority, which is chaired by the directly elected Mayor of the North East; there are therefore two directly elected mayors covering North Tyneside. The combined authority was established in 2024 covering North Tyneside, County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

North Tyneside lies in the coalfield that covers the South-East of the historic county of Northumberland. It has traditionally been a centre of heavy industry along with the rest of Tyneside, with for example the Swan Hunter shipyard in Wallsend, and export of coal. Today most of the heavy industry has gone, leaving high unemployment in some areas (over the borough, 5.1% compared to 3.7% for the UK in 2022).

Two key roads serve North Tyneside:

• The A19 which leaves the A1 north of Newcastle and runs through the borough and then through the Tyne Tunnel to South Tyneside, Teesside and towards the South.
• The Coast Road (A1058) runs from Newcastle to the coast. For most of its length it is grade-separated.

North Tyneside is served by 17 stations on the Tyne and Wear Metro on a loop from Newcastle through Wallsend, North Shields, Whitley Bay, Benton and back to Newcastle. Trains operate at least every 15 minutes, with extra services in the peak hours. Most of the stations serving North Tyneside fall into fare zones B and C.

There are no National Rail stations in the borough, despite the East Coast Main Line and Blyth and Tyne routes passing through. The nearest National Rail station is Newcastle, which is also served by the Tyne & Wear Metro.

North Tyneside has an extensive bus network, with most areas benefiting from direct services to Newcastle. Many areas have direct bus services to Cramlington, Blyth or Morpeth. The principle bus operators in the area are Arriva North East (all areas), Go North East (most areas) and Stagecoach in Newcastle (Benton, Forest Hall, Killingworth and Wallsend).

The Shields Ferry links North Shields to South Shields, in South Tyneside.

There is an international ferry terminal at Royal Quays in North Shields, with a service to Amsterdam (IJmuiden).

• Segedunum Roman fort is in Wallsend (at the end of Hadrian's wall).
• The Stephenson Railway Museum in New York, named after George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson who hailed from Tyneside and lived in West Moor in North Tyneside 1802–1824.
• Tynemouth Castle and Priory
• North Tyneside includes coastline covering Tynemouth, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay
• Blue Reef Aquarium in Tynemouth
• St. Mary's Island in Whitley Bay
• North Shields Fish Quay, Clifford's Fort and the High and Low Lights of North Shields

Radio

• Y Radio

North Tyneside is twinned with:

• Oer-Erkenschwick in Germany
• Halluin in France

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of North Tyneside.

Individuals

• Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner CBE: 9 November 2023. (Sting)

Military Units

• 216 squadron (Tyne/Tees) Squadron Royal Corps of Transport (Volunteers) now 216 Tynemouth Squadron RLC. 23 February 1972.
• Royal British Legion (Whitley Bay and Forest Hall Branches): 15 October 2009.
• 2344 (Longbenton) Squadron Air Training Corps: 16 December 2014.