Gateshead flyover could be demolished in ambitious £500m plans to boost walking and cycling

The Gateshead flyover could be replaced with a tree-lined boulevard. Credit: NCJ Media

A £500m vision to dramatically boost walking and cycling across the North East has been unveiled - with plans including demolishing the Gateshead flyover and a new bike hire scheme across the region.

Transport chiefs have revealed their strategy to increase the number of short, active journeys in the North East by 45% by 2035.

It is thought that achieving the goal could prevent 1,000 premature deaths over the next 12 years, save 80,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, and swell the region's economy by £350m every year.

Proposals to hit the ambitious target are due to be presented to council leaders next week and feature half a billion pounds worth of infrastructure improvements designed to make it easier for people to give up their cars.

The ambitious plans aim to increase the amount of trips taken by foot or bicycle. Credit: Welsh Government

The measures, most of which are not funded at this stage, include:

  • Removal of the Gateshead flyover and construction of tree-lined boulevard in its place, with other upgrades to the pedestrian, cycle and public transport environment heading towards the Tyne Bridge;

  • A regional cycle and e-bike here scheme, with hubs located at transport interchanges, employment sites, town and city centres, and residential areas around the North East;

  • Upgraded and new walking and cycle routes across the region - including around Alnwick, Blyth, Whitley Bay, Wallsend, central Newcastle, Washington, Durham city, and rural areas across Northumberland and County Durham;

  • A network of secure cycle lockers that are smart enabled across Metro stations, bus interchanges and rail stations;

  • A new footbridge linking the Vaux development site in Sunderland to the Stadium of Light and a subway linking the St Peter's area and Bonnersfield development site with St Peter's Metro and the Stadium Village;

  • Creation of a cycling "superhighway" running between Newcastle and Carlisle;

  • New bridges over major motorways and A roads.

According to a report to the North East Joint Transport Committee (JTC), one in four adults in the region do less than 30 minutes of physical activity per week and one in four children are classed as obese when starting secondary school.

In 2018/19, an estimated 408m car journeys of under a mile were made here and 750m under five miles, while around a third of people in the North East are at risk of social exclusion due to a lack of access to transport - more than any other region in England and with a disproportionately high impact on carers, people with disabilities, and those low income.

Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon, who chairs the JTC, said: "Active Travel is great for personal health and well-being, our environment and our local economy. Sadly people in our region are the least physically active in England, which leads to poor health outcomes such as premature deaths and additional costs to services such as the NHS.

"We hope to tackle this by making major improvements to the active travel network so that it's much easier, safer and more appealing for local people to enjoy active travel, and that it becomes the natural first choice for everyday journeys."

"The draft strategy outlines an ambitious plan to boost active travel meaning that by 2035 more than half of all regional short journeys are walked, wheeled and cycled."

If agreed by the JTC next week, the North East Active Travel Strategy will be put out to a public consultation in the new year.

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