North Tyneside Council may have to use compulsory purchase powers to help kick-start the regeneration of a derelict factory site in North Shields.
The former Tyne Brand factory on Tanners’ Bank has been empty for more than 40 years.
The building occupies a 2.5 acre site at the ‘gateway’ to the Fish Quay and is one of three sites identified for housing under the council’s Ambition for North Shields Masterplan, aiming to transform the town centre and riverside into a place people want to ‘live, work and visit’.
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The company had its origins in the early 1900s as a way of making use of the excess fish from the bumper herring catches, which were common before over-exploitation collapsed stocks.
By the 1930s, Tyne Brand products were stocked by 40,000 grocers, with its marque found on tins and jars in shop shelves on its doorstep and as far afield as Australia and America.
Its range included tinned sliced beef, mince and onions, and sliced roast pork with gravy and stuffing.
In the 1950s, the sides of buses carried the Tyne brand advert for its So-Taist-Ee beef and vegetable extract, and in 1964 the company won the Prix d’Honneur in Paris for its tinned sliced roast beef.
Such excellence attracted the attention of the Spiller Group, which acquired Tyne Brand in 1967 and turned the North Shields factory over to pet food production in 1973. Three years later the works closed with the loss of 300 jobs.
Previous efforts to redevelop the site have stalled, with complex issues around land ownership and the condition of the land. However, the council continues to negotiate with private landowners to acquire the site, so that plans can be brought forward.
At its meeting on Monday evening, the council’s Cabinet agreed the use of compulsory purchase powers (CPOs) to acquire the land interests if deals cannot be agreed to buy the remaining parcels of land. Any final decision on a compulsory purchase would rest with the Secretary of State.
Coun Carl Johnson, North Tyneside’s Deputy Mayor and cabinet member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said: “The regeneration of North Shields is a key priority for the Cabinet, with a number of schemes now emerging from design and starting on site which is fantastic progress.
“The former Tyne Brand factory site is one of several sites identified for housing in the Masterplan, which was agreed in January 2021.
“The site includes pockets of land that are owned by various parties, including the council, and is a prime location at the gateway to the Fish Quay, which has undergone considerable regeneration in recent years. It is well placed to bring forward new homes to the town which is one of our key priorities.
“This has always been a very challenging site, one with lots of owners, and there is potentially lots of work required once the factory has been demolished to decontaminate and make the land fit for redevelopment.
“There have been several attempts by private developers to assemble the land necessary, but the market has failed to bring forward a viable development. It is therefore considered appropriate for us to take steps to buy the site and bring it into public ownership so that we can secure its onward development.
“This approach will, we hope, remove long-standing obstacles to the site being brought back into use, remove a notorious eyesore, and bring the site back into use for the benefit of the community.”
