Next phase of work on Whitley Bay's promenade to get underway

Further work is to get underway to continue the transformation of Whitley Bay’s popular Northern Promenade.
An artist impression of the proposed work on Whitley Bay's Northern Promenade.An artist impression of the proposed work on Whitley Bay's Northern Promenade.
An artist impression of the proposed work on Whitley Bay's Northern Promenade.

North Tyneside Council has made a significant investment to refurbish the seafront walkway in recent years.

The promenade has undergone major upgrades from the area around Watts Slope, linking to the Spanish City Plaza, all the way to the Rendezvous Café.

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The improvements so far include new surfacing, railings, lighting, shelters and seating, upgraded steps to access the beach, refurbishment of public toilets, car park resurfacing, a new kiosk at Watts Slope and repairs to the iconic Rendezvous Café.

A new storage facility has also been created on the promenade for local charity, Beach Access North East (BANE), which provides free beach wheelchair loans to disabled and elderly people.

The next phase of work will focus on an area of promenade north of the Rendezvous café and will involve repairing and replacing the original ‘Battenberg-style’ yellow and red flagstones to retain the character of the promenade.

The edging blocks along the sea side of the promenade will be removed and new railings will be installed to match those previously put in along the stretch and near St Marys Island.

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Two new shelters and pebble seating will also be installed to match the previous phase.

The unsightly concrete plinths and shelters, which have fallen into a state of disrepair, will be removed and three sets of steps down to the beach will be refurbished and made safer with new handrails installed.

Elected Mayor Norma Redfearn CBE said: “I am so pleased, and I know many of our residents will be too, that we’re about to carry on the excellent work to transform and bring the seafront promenade up-to-date and really change it for the better.

“We have one of the best coastlines in the country, visited by around 2million people every year, and the promenade is a hugely popular place for visitors and families to enjoy a stroll and grab a coffee and take in some sea air to get away from it all.

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“The work we’ll be doing along this stretch of the promenade is all about retaining that wonderful heritage and distinctive feel it has with the fantastic Battenburg-style paving stones, which even Beamish Museum were interested in at one stage!

"But we had to turn them down as we wanted to keep them as we know how popular they are.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the work progress over the coming weeks and months and this is yet more to look forward to among all the other exciting things happening along our coastline and around the rest of the borough.”

Work is due to get underway this Autumn and continue until Spring 2022.

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The project forms part of the Council’s Ambition for North Tyneside strategy, which outlines plans for major investment in each part of the borough.

As part of the Ambition strategy, a number of major achievements have already been made, including the major £6million flood alleviation project at Killingworth Lake and the revamp of Forest Hall shopping area, while major regeneration work is underway on the Masterplan for North Shields aimed at revitalising the town centre and improving its connectivity to the Fish Quay.

Visit https://my.northtyneside.gov.uk/category/214/regeneration for more information.

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