Gateshead Council has lodged a bid to the Department for Transport’s £1 billion Structures Fund after councillors were told the expected cost of demolishing the A167 Gateshead Flyover had risen to £32.6 million.
The council told North East Bylines it has submitted the bid for town-centre highway works after the flyover came down. Figures to councillors this week showed expected demolition costs rising from a prospective £18 million last year to £32.6 million now.
The BBC reported the structure was closed in December 2024 over collapse fears and that demolition was completed on 1 October. A council report put contractor BAM’s estimate at £17.3 million in March 2025.
Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves launched the Structures Fund on a visit to Gateshead in June 2025. She said the flyover crisis was one of the reasons the £1 billion pot was created to “fund projects to repair crumbling bridges, roads, and tunnels”, as North East Bylines reported at the time.
Roads now taking the traffic
The bid targets highway improvements at Park Lane roundabout, Five Bridges roundabout and the link road between them. It also includes proposed improvements to Charles Street, Arthur Street and High West Street to reflect that removal of the flyover has diverted traffic onto other roads which also need improvements to accommodate both strategic and local traffic, a council spokesperson said.
Councillor John Adams said many cars use narrow Prince Consort Road, with no bus or cycle lanes. Remaining works include clearance, guard rails and permanent signals at Park Lane roundabout.
No decision on the link road
More than 1,000 people have signed a petition to restore the Park Lane to Five Bridges link, but the council has made no final decision. Leader Councillor Nick Allan said the authority is working towards reopening the road beneath the former structure, but must take the time to get it right.
Officials say they can pay the higher demolition bill while seeking grant support; the North East mayor’s office has already granted £2.5 million. The government had not committed removal or regeneration funding by the time of the bid.
Sales sit below Tyne and Wear
Land Registry records show homes in Gateshead sold for a median of £154,750 on 2,503 sales in the 12 months to August 2026, £10,250 below Tyne and Wear’s median of £165,000 on 13,629 sales. England’s median was £285,000 on 671,521 sales over the same period. Pryce does not publish a North East England total.
Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data
Gateshead recorded 33 new-build sales, 1.3 per cent of its home sales in that year. Tyne and Wear recorded 286 new-build sales, 2.1 per cent of 13,629, and England 13,309 of 671,521, 2.0 per cent.
NE8 had a median of £125,000 on 441 sales in the same 12 months, £29,750 below Gateshead’s median of £154,750 on 2,503 sales.
Terraced homes in NE8 sold for a median of £170,000 on 124 sales, against Gateshead’s terraced median of £139,000 on 848 sales.
Charles Street and Arthur Street saw no registered sales in the NE8 district from 2020 to 2024, with only three sales on High West Street in that period.
A final bill in spring 2027
Clearance and reinstatement are due by December 2026; the council expects a confirmed demolition cost in spring 2027. Consultation on a wider town-centre vision starts in November 2026, and the Department for Transport has yet to rule on the Structures Fund bid.