'Coming soon' - New sign reveals the future of a boarded up South Shields pub

The Marsden Inn, on the corner of Redwell Lane and Marsden Lane, was put up for sale at the start of 2024 - with the pub announcing that it would be closing in May 2024 for “future development”.

The site is regularly the backdrop for photos and TV footage as thousands of runners go past it as part of the Great North Run.

However, the pub has been boarded up ever since it closed and the future of the site remained uncertain.

In August 2025, South Tyneside Council approved plans to convert part of a the former South Shields pub into a new convenience store.

The plans, which were submitted earlier this year, aim to demolish the building’s existing north west rear extension and to convert part of the former pub’s ground floor into a retail use.

Planning documents described the development as a “food retail unit”, “small supermarket” and a “convenience store” and proposed works included a “rear single storey extension, new retail entrance/additional doorways, widening of [the] west vehicle entrance and other external works.”

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Now the future of the once popular pub looks to have been revealed as residents have noticed a brand new sign above the front door of the site.

The sign, which has a Tesco Express logo on it, states: “Coming soon.

“Your new exciting Tesco Express store.”

Details on the opening date for the site are not yet known.