Regeneration and development

Blyth Harbour in Northumberland was a thriving port specialising in the transport of coal by ship right up until the 1960s. Trains from the nearby collieries would use the coal staithes – a long riverside timber ramp – to drop coal directly into the waiting ships for export all over the world.
As the coal industry declined, so did the Harbour area around the old staithes before Blyth Valley Borough Council stepped in to promote the area for high quality residential and office use. Part of this scheme included the redevelopment of the old timber staithes into a public riverside walkway. The old staithes had been partially dismantled from their original 10m height in the ‘50s and had since fallen into disrepair.