Team Valley

Team Valley is traditionally the heavy industrial area of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. More recently it has become home to 'Retail World', basically a retail park, however this makes up just a small percentage of the entirety of the Team Valley Trading Estate. Many large international companies are based in the trading estate and it is rapidly developing as a business park rather than the heavily industrialised area it used to be. There are currently approximately 1400 companies on the estate. Each day, approximately 25,000 people travel to Team Valley.

History

In the 1930s the Government decided to spend nearly £2m on this part of Gateshead establishing the Team Valley Trading Estate as a well-planned industrial environment.

This initiative resulted in a landscaped estate intended for 15,000 workers. It included a central headquarters, now used by English Partnerships, a bank, a post office and, some modestly scaled industrial buildings as well as some smaller industrial units for start-up ventures.

These facilities were laid out along a wide central artery, known as 'Kingsway', almost two miles long. The construction, which was undertaken by Wimpey Construction, took several years and was completed in 1938. ["Wimpey: The first hundred years" - company brochure] Many of the older residents of Gateshead were involved in the building of the original team valley.

The southern end used to be the location of the National Coal Board's regional headquarters but after the closure of the mines in the area this was replaced by a Safeway supermarket which is now owned by Sainsbury's. The connection remains today in that the junction with the A1 is often referred to as the coal house roundabout.

The River Team runs directly through the centre of the trading estate, hidden in a culvert.

Recently developments at the north end of the trading estate have seen a new hotel, shops, offices and a Regus virtual office building being built.

Transport

Although the Team Valley Trading Estate predates the road by several decades, it is now bordered on the West by the A1 road, and has two junctions at both the north and south ends. A dual carriageway runs the length of the trading estate between the two A1 road junctions. The worsening congestion and the lack of scope for improving the A1 has led to the Highways Agency using the provisions of Article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 to restrict additional development taking place on Team Valley. The North East Chamber of Commerce and two local newspapers ("The Journal" and "Evening Chronicle") have launched a campaign against these restrictions, entitled "Go for Jobs". [ [http://www.goforjobs.co.uk Go for Jobs] ]

To the East it is bordered by the East Coast Main Line which is the main railway between London and Edinburgh via Newcastle. Many years ago there was a station situated in Team Valley however this has long since closed and the nearest station on the East Coast Main Line is now Central Station in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Publications

Team Valley Business Directory is a publication which is distributed within the Gateshead area, primarily centered on Team Valley itself, going to 3000 local businesses. It offers articles and advertising for local companies.

References