Michael Gove announces £1.8million funding to help regenerate South Shields riverside at Holborn into 'vibrant' new community

Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, announced the cash for the Holborn project in South Shields this morning as part of Government’s Brownfield Land Release Fund spending.

The funding will be used for civil engineering works needed to prepare the nine-hectare site for development, and facilitate the construction of around 300 new homes.

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Mr Gove said the cash will mean new homes being built on ‘underused land’ in South Tyneside, ‘boosting the local economy and helping hardworking people and families get on the property ladder’.

He said: “South Tyneside will benefit from over £1million for new riverside housing in South Shields.

“This Government is unlocking housing in areas that really need it and creating greener more beautiful places through our Brownfield Land Release Fund.”

South Tyneside Council said significant remediation works are needed to make the Holborn site more suitable for development, including the installation of a new quay edge wall, regrading of the site, decontamination of the ground and raising of the former dry docks to overcome serious flooding issues.

Councillor Tracey Dixon, leader of South Tyneside Council, welcomed the funding to help get the ambitious vision for the area off the ground.

“This is excellent news and this funding will help us deliver our ambitions for Holborn,” she said.

“This area has been largely derelict for many years and bears many of the hallmarks of its former heavy industrial use, which are currently constraints to development.

“This funding will enable us to carry out the engineering works needed to overcome these significant site issues.

“This scheme will bring brownfield land back into use and transform it into a vibrant riverside quarter that people will be proud to call home.”

She said the project meets a number of council priorities to create conditions for recovery and growth, invest in the natural and built environment and support town centres.

Planning permission for the enabling works was granted in August.

The site, which is split over levels, will be reprofiled to create a gentle slope from Commercial Road to the Tyne, making it more suitable for development.

The council said three of the docks will be restored to preserve the area’s industrial heritage.

Work is expected to get underway in early 2022.

A planning application has been submitted for the whole scheme – detailed for phase one and outline for phases two and three) and will be considered by the council’s planning committee this autumn.

Developer Keepmoat, working in partnership with Cussins, was appointed in 2020 as the development partner to deliver high-quality family houses and apartments and the associated infrasatructure, including a new riverside promenade.

The scheme secured £9.4million from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for the delivery of a future phase of office accommodation.

Mr Gove said today’s funding commitment ‘highlights the Government’s ambition to drive economic growth, create new opportunities and deliver new homes for those who need it the most’.

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