North East

Introduction

The North East is one of the smallest of the English regions in the area it covers 8,573 square km and has the smallest population of 2.6 million.

The two main centres of population are the conurbations that are grouped around the three main rivers. In the north of the region, the rivers Tyne and Wear on which the cities of Newcastle and Sunderland lie. In the south of the region, the river Tees on which Middlesbrough and Stockton are placed. The region has 12 unitary/metropolitan councils since April 2009, when Northumberland and Durham became county-wide authorities.

Two thirds of the region is rural, a third is designated as a National Park (Northumberland and part of the North York Moors), or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (North Pennines and the Northumberland Coast). In addition the region has two World Heritage Sites in Durham Cathedral and Hadrian’s Wall.

The major routes into the North East are the A1(M), A1 and A19 which run north-south and the A69(T) and A66(T) providing the East-West connections. The region is well served with frequent rail links to London and Edinburgh. There are two international airports in the region, Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley.

Recent visits

Demographics for the North East

Mid-2007 Population Estimates

Figures updated annually. Last update February 2009. Source: Office for National Statistics.

The Regional Minister for the North East: The Rt Hon Nick Brown MP

Children and learners

• School Capital Funding allocations for the three years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 were announced in November 2007. The North East local authorities will receive £511.5 million for this period. £136.5 million in 2008-09 (including £25.9 million for modernisation and £52.1 million for devolved formula funding), £168.1 million in 2009-10 (including £41.7 million from the Primary Capital Programme) and £206.9 million in 2010--1 (including £70.2 million from the Primary Capital Programme, although 2009-11 figures are only indicative at this stage.
• Ten local authorities in the region (Durham, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Redcar and Cleveland, South Tyneside and Gateshead (joint programme), Stockton and Sunderland) have now joined the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. The national capital investment programme is aiming to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in England so that every child is taught in well designed, efficient 21st century buildings.
• Three local authorities in the region (Darlington, North Tyneside and Northumberland) will share £24 million during 2009-11 under the Targeted Capital Funding programme for 14-19 diplomas and special education needs and disabilities.
• Designs were unveiled in September 2006 for a £25 million school campus to be built at Crossgate Moor in Durham. The redevelopment is the first under Durham County Council's Building Schools for the Future programme and is scheduled to be completed in 2009.

Health and well being

• £200 million will be spent to improve health care in the North East. £75 million will be used to build a Specialist Emergency Care Hospital near Cramlington. A further £125 million will be spent to upgrade Wansbeck and North Tyneside General Hospitals. In addition, Community Hospitals at Berwick, Haltwhistle and Moprpeth will also be improved.

Crime

• During 2008-11 the community safety partnerships in the North East will receive a Home Office contribution to their area based grants totalling £10,512,000. This will be used to help achieve the public service agreement targets, to reassure the public, reducing the fear of crime and anti social behaviour as well as building confidence in the criminal justice system without compromising fairness and to reduce the harm caused by illegal drugs including substantially increasing the number of drugs misusing offenders entering treatment through the criminal justice system. Funding will also help tackle local priorities.
• The North East has been allocated £2,002,330 under the Home Office Basic Command Unit fund for 2008-09 to help police play a full and active role in delivery of crime and disorder reduction partnership strategies and policing plans and contribute towards achievement of public service agreements and local targets.
• £26,200 has been allocated by the National Partnership Performance Improvement Fund, to improve personalised and depersonalised data sharing for Community Safety  purposes in the North East.
• £45,000 has been allocated by the National Partnership Performance Improvement Fund to reduce alcohol related crime and disorder through the North East Regional Alcohol Office.

Transport

• For 2007-08 to 2010-11, the local transport plan settlement is giving the North East £245 million to improve local transport in the region.
• The Transport Innovation Fund has awarded £400,000 to County Durham and £1.7 million was awarded to Tyne and Wear local authorities. Both awards were used to explore both hard demand management and public transport improvements. Both studies concluded that congestion charging would be inappropriate solutions to their transport problems in the current climate and as a consequence Durham County Council and Tyne and Wear authorities decided not to put forward business cases to Department for Transport.
• Darlington was successful in its bid to be one of three Sustainable Travel Town pilot schemes in England. It is receiving £3.24 million over the five years 2005-09 to promote sustainable modes of transport. In addition, Darlington has been chosen as a cycling demonstration town. From 2005 it receives £500,000 a year, for three years to promote the project.
• A second road tunnel is to be built under the River Tyne. The existing tunnel which opened in 1967 links North and South Tyneside and carries more than 11 million vehicles a year. The new tunnel, which is likely to cost about £260 million, will be built east of the existing site between Jarrow in South Tyneside and Howden in North Tyneside. The project is to be funded from tolls. It is one of the largest transport infrastructure projects currently active in Great Britain. 
• On 1 February 2008, TT2 the Bouygues-led Consortium began the 30-year concession to operate the existing vehicle, cycle and pedestrian tunnels, to construct the second vehicle tunnel and refurbish the existing vehicle tunnel.
• Construction of the new tunnel began in October 2008 and is expected to open in late 2010 whereupon the existing tunnel will close for refurbishment for about 12 months.
• Darlington Eastern Transport Corridor (DETC) is now complete. This new road provides a link between Haughton Road and the A66 and also provides a dedicated link to the Lingfield Point Business Park. The total cost was £14.2 million with £13.3 million provided by the Department for Transport.
• The £24.7 million A69 Haydon Bridge bypass is now completed and the road was opened to traffic in March 2009.
• Metro Re-invigoration (Project Orpheus): this project is supported by the Interim Regional Transport Board. Metro reinvigoration will cost some £600 million and be phased over a number of years. Nexus has submitted its business case to Government for approval. In August 2007, the Department for Transport awarded programme entry for a £14.3 milllion (£12.3 million contribution for the Department for Transport) scheme to install new ticket machines and barriers on Metro. Starting in 2009, 249 ticket machines will be replaced with models capable of accepting credit cards and bank notes. Electronic barriers will also be installed at 13 key stations to protect the Metro’s revenue. Funding depends on suitable progress being made by Nexus.In August 2008 Department for Transport-approved Metro Re-invigoration phase 2 (£300 million). This scheme will upgrade stations, tunnels, bridges, overhead lines and communication systems. The scale of the scheme is such that funds will be provided by the Department for Transport from a separate budget rather than from local transport plans or regional funding allocation. Procurement of phase 2 is currently underway.

Social inclusion and regeneration

• £214 million has been committed for the four North East New Deal for Communities partnerships to enable the social and economic regeneration of inner city area.
• £66.3 million through Working Neighbourhoods Fund for 2008-09, £78.18 million for 2009-10 and £80.7 million for 2010-11 has been allocated to tackle areas of the highest concentrations of worklessness and lowest levels of skills and enterprise, faced by the most disadvantaged communities. With an overall Area Based Grant for the region of £89 million for 2008-09, £187.83 million for 2009-10 and £187.3 million for 2010-11.
• The North East has three Round 1 Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders established in 2002, out of 20 nationally, which receives £3.4 million over seven years. The pathfinders are within Stockton-on-Tees, Derwentside and Easington, with Blyth being successful under the Round 2 Pathfinder in December 2003.
• There were three Liveability Fund Pilots within the North East with a total allocation of £8.2 million from February 2004-06. The pilot areas at Castle Morpeth, Easington and North Tyneside were testing new approaches for tackling public space and local liveability issues that focus on service improvement, investment in innovative new parks and public spaces, and action learning and sharing of good practice throughout the process.

European funding

• £500 million of European funding has been allocated under the Objective 2 programmes, and £200 million under the Objective 3 programme. These funds are administered through a partnership of regional bodies and the Government Office for the North East.
• NETPark is the North East of England's science, engineering and Technology Park for the commercialisation of cutting edge research and development. Management and promotion of NETPark is in the hands of County Durham Development Corporation. Companies at NETPark have access to cutting edge research from the five regional universities and tailored business support that enables them to deliver their potential. Since 2004 NETPark has received £2.2 million of ERDF grant towards infrastructure development and the provision of incubator units for new and growing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) for research and development into knowledge based technologies.
• Key successes from the 2000-06 European Programme across the North East are 6,700 new jobs created; 28,800 SMEs assisted; gross new turnover £1,828 million; voluntary sector organisations assisted 1,900 (not included in figures above).

Source: Office for National Statistics. Last updated 26 June 2009

Internet links

• Neighbourhood Statistics
• Regional Snapshot