Final Wave of Holborn Riverside Regeneration Delivers 156 Homes

For decades the old docks at Holborn, just west of the town centre on the south bank of the Tyne, sat derelict — disused dry docks, a failing quay wall and contaminated brownfield land that flooding had made all but unusable. That stretch of riverside is now emerging as one of South Shields' newest neighbourhoods.

From derelict docks to a riverside quarter

The Holborn scheme has already delivered 135 houses and apartments across its first two phases, all now sold and occupied. The final phase, due to begin this autumn, will complete the picture: Cussins is building 109 homes and Keepmoat a further 47, taking the site to 156 new homes in this last stage and rounding out the wider riverside development. Completion is expected by 2028.

Twenty-four of the final-phase homes will be affordable — a mix of discounted market sale and affordable rent — delivered through the housing association Bernicia. That matters in a town where demand for genuinely affordable homes remains high.

A promenade for everyone, not just residents

Crucially, the regeneration is not only about housing. Getting the site to this point took years of heavy engineering: decontaminating the ground, raising the former dry docks to solve the flooding problem, and building a new quay-edge wall along the river. Three of the historic docks are being restored to preserve a reminder of the area's industrial past.

The plans also include a new play area and, once the works are finished, a public riverside promenade running down to the restored docks — an open, walkable stretch of waterfront that anyone can enjoy, echoing the seafront and Harton Quays further east.

Best for: Foundation and civil engineering works are already under way, with the final residential phase pencilled in to start this autumn and the full scheme completing by 2028.

The project has been backed by significant public investment, including funding from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and the government's Brownfield Land Release Fund, reflecting how much groundwork was needed to bring a difficult site back into use.

You can read the council's update on the South Tyneside Council website.

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