About South Tyneside
South Tyneside is part of the Tyne and Wear city region,
with a stunning coast to the east of the borough, a
strong River Tyne connection to the north, Sunderland to
the south and Gateshead to the west.
Created in 1974 under local government reorganisation, South Tyneside is small, covering just 64 square kilometres with unique towns and villages of South Shields, Jarrow, Hebburn, Whitburn, Boldon and Cleadon.
Our history
Our place in world history is clear to see. We are already
home to one World Heritage Site, Arbeia, and a second,
Wearmouth-Jarrow, an 8th century European centre of
learning and culture, has been selected as the UK's World
Heritage nomination for 2010.
More about Wearmouth-Jarrow
The more recent history of the borough is characterised by heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining and engineering, which are deeply engrained in our communities.
Following closure of many of these industries, our economy suffered industrial decline in the 1970s and 1980s, leaving a legacy of severe social and economic consequences and widespread deprivation, which remains a challenge in South Tyneside today.
Deprivation
In 2002 the Indices of Multiple Deprivation ranked us the 15th most deprived council in the country, out of the 354 local authorities.
The 2004 indices showed we had improved to be the 27th most deprived council in the country with still nearly one fifth of the borough in areas classed in the worst 10% in England.
In 2007 we improved again but are still ranked 38th most deprived with just under half our Super Output Areas still in the most deprived 20% in England.
Population
Although the borough benefits from outstanding natural beauty and a proud history, population levels have fallen from 156,847 in 1993 to 151,000 today.
The number of households however has consistently increased from 65,000 in 1991 to 68,000 today.
As part of our approach to regenerating our communities, we have strong and ambitious plans not only to stop the decline in our population but also to attract people to South Tyneside to share in our strong sense of place and be part of our vibrant and diverse communities.
We have one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the region with well-established Yemeni/Arab and Bangladeshi communities.
4.4% of our total population and 5% of under-16s are from black or ethnic minority communities.
Falling numbers of children and young people and rising numbers of older people in South Tyneside are major challenges that we are addressing with strong user focus and partnership delivery.
Our Local Strategic Partnership
Transformation, our Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) was formed in 2001 and is fully represented by public, private and voluntary sector partners to develop and achieve a shared vision of improvement.
The LSP sets the overall strategic direction, monitors and challenges performance and ultimately drives transformation in South Tyneside.
