Tyne Bridge works 'on schedule' after business announces closure

Newcastle City Council says there is no delay to restoration work on the Tyne Bridge.

It comes after HWKERLAND, a food and drink business based on the Gateshead Quayside, announced it will be closing after the weekend - claiming that the deconstruction of the scaffolding around the bridge's southern tower had been pushed back.

The site was due to host a large-scale festive village during the winter but organisers said the alleged delay would cause “major disruption to this winter’s planned events and operations”.

Newcastle City Council says there has been no such delay and that the removal of the scaffolding as repairs move to the Newcastle side of the bridge “will not impact on local businesses."

The Council says work to remove the scaffolding on the Gateshead side is due to get underway in October, with the final remaining elements being removed in the new year.

A spokesperson said: “The major restoration work on our iconic Tyne Bridge got underway this April on the Gateshead Quayside. Works are progressing well and, despite having uncovered additional repairs to attend to prior to painting, we are on schedule and there are no delays to the overall project.

“As set out in our programme, from early October we will begin to dismantle sections of the scaffolding on the Gateshead tower and people will soon be able to see for themselves the remarkable transformation that has taken place behind the scaffolding. The removal of the scaffolding is being carefully managed and will not impact on local businesses. At the same time, the scaffolding will rise on the Newcastle side as work progresses around the Newcastle tower.

“Newcastle and Gateshead are very much open for business throughout the restoration programme and we will continue to liaise with local businesses to minimise any impact as we restore an icon to its former glory.”

Mike Hesketh, of the EVNT Inspirations firm behind HWKRLAND, said: “The removal was a factor in the delivery of our winter programme. However we have no issue with this as we had no solid guarantees on timeline due to the unknown nature of the works.

“We are glad the overall programme is still on course as we want to see the Tyne Bridge back to its former glory as much as the rest of the North East.”

The work, which represents the first major maintenance work on the bridge in two decades, got underway in April.

It is hoped the restoration will be completed ahead of the bridge's centenary celebrations in October 2028.

The expected cost of the project is £32 million, though it is part of a larger £41.4 million project which includes improvements to part of the Central Motorway.

Due to weight restrictions on the grade II* listed structure, scaffolding cannot be in place at both ends of the bridge at once, meaning it must be carried out in stages, with repairs being carried out gradually across the bridge over time.

Work got underway on the Gateshead end of the bridge in April and will later move to the North Tower on the Newcastle side, before work is carried out on the main span of the bridge and its arch.

Lane restrictions cutting the road capacity of the bridge itself in half are expected to remain in place for the first two years of the restoration.

Alongside a full repaint, the bridge requires a number of structural repairs including steelwork fixes, waterproofing and road resurfacing.

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