Staiths South Bank’s impressive history revealed

Residents at Staiths South Bank in Dunston and partners in the development have gained an insight into the history of the site at the launch of photography led publication The Life of the Dunston Staiths.

George Wimpey North East commissioned the publication to chart the historical milestones of the site from loading coal into steamers to Gateshead National Garden Festival 1990 and the present day development.

The publication, designed and written by Fawthrop McLanders, involved working closely with Gateshead and Newcastle libraries, local historians and delving into archives at Gateshead Council. It is thought to be the first published document dedicated to the area since the National Garden Festival and will be used to illustrate the site’s transformation, to inform and inspire visitors and residents and to show Staiths South Bank as a site with an important, unusual past.

Award winning Staiths South Bank is established as a bench mark for well designed affordable housing, a development which has innovative design for modern needs at its heart. The Life of the Dunston Staiths offers an overview of the history of the site and a glimpse into the future; it reinforces the uniqueness of the development as one which is forward thinking but keen to acknowledge its past.

The partnership between George Wimpey North East and the Hemingways has embraced different thinking for Staiths South Bank since planning began. The development displays a real awareness of buyers’ needs and aspirations and access to facilities such as wireless internet, communal gardens, concealed recycling points and now published details of the site’s past show a real attention to detail which makes Staiths South Bank unique.

Speaking about The Life of the Dunston Staiths Wayne Hemingway said:

As a working staiths, during the National Garden Festival and today, as an award winning housing development, the area now known as Staiths South Bank has consistently attracted national and international attention. The easy to read chronological history together with the high quality images in the book really bring the site's past to life.

The images show the Tyne packed with colliers and coal, icons of the Garden Festival, the monorail and ferris wheel and shots of current residents enjoying the pocket parks and communal areas of what has become one of Britain’s best known housing developments. It is an important document that helps to cement the "sense of place and belonging" that this part of Gateshead has and is sure to be enjoyed by residents, local people and visitors now and in the future."

Joan Peart, George Wimpey North East Sales and Marketing Director said:

“The site at Staiths South Bank has an impressive history and is very important to the region’s heritage and industrial past. This unusual project has been a fascinating opportunity to work with local libraries and historians and to find out about the former communities on the south banks of the River Tyne. The new publication is packed with photographs which show how different the site once was. Looking back illustrates the extent of the transformation on site and is testament to the achievement of a well designed, clean, family friendly community.”