The proud UK town set to suffer fourth brutal blow to fading high street

In the heart of the north-east, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, the town of Gateshead thrived with a strong commercial identity for decades. Its high street was a hive of activity, big stores, plenty of shoppers, and the road full of traffic. But now, the area is facing a major setback - and local residents are bracing themselves. ChronicleLive has urged Gateshead Council to act quickly to lift the "doom and gloom", claiming that long-term plans are not enough to address concerns.

Gateshead has a long and proud history. By the early 20th century, its High Street was a bustling hub, with shops serving both the well-off and those with less. Smaller stores offered second-hand goods at lower prices, while larger establishments like Snowball's catered to wealthier customers. In the post-war years, Shephards department store on West Street drew shoppers from across Tyneside, and Jackson Street hosted a major North Eastern Co-op branch. The high street was also famous for its pubs - at one point, around 32 lined the street. Legend has it that completing a pub crawl of every one in a single session was virtually impossible, though many tried.

The decline of Gateshead high street can be traced back to the closure of the Odeon cinema in 1975. After the projectors fell silent, the building took on a new life as the Top Rank bingo hall between 1978 and 1995. But once that too closed, the structure was demolished in 2003. What remains today is not a landmark but a vacant, windswept patch of ground, overgrown with weeds - a stark reminder of what once stood there.

In 1981, Gateshead Metro station opened, linking the town centre to the brandnew Tyne and Wear Metro network. Almost immediately, it offered fast and affordable travel into Newcastle city centre, where the shopping attractions of Eldon Square and the bustling Northumberland Street awaited.

Just five years later, in 1986, the landscape shifted further with the opening of the Metrocentre - a vast, stateoftheart shopping mall located only three miles to the west. The new mall drew even more shoppers away from the already struggling High Street, leaving the town centre to contend with dwindling footfall and rising vacancies.

Then there is the fourth big blow: the planned demolition of the A167 Gateshead flyover. While its removal is intended to reshape the area and open it up for redevelopment, some fear the works will bring years of further disruption. Others worry that what will replace it will not restore what the high street has already lost. It marks, perhaps symbolically, the end of the high street as previous generations knew it.