Get Carter car park in Gateshead to be demolished

The car park is due to be flattened

An eyesore Gateshead car park made famous by a 1970s gangster film is to finally be demolished three years after its revamp was first announced.

Plans to bulldoze the car park in Trinity Square, which featured in the Michael Caine film Get Carter, were revealed in 2007.

But it has taken landowner Tesco three years to draw up plans for the land.

Gateshead Council and the supermarket have finally signed a development agreement for the square.

The agreement is a first step in the refurbishment of the area.

Economic change

Plans include new public spaces, shops, student housing, offices, a new car park and a Tesco store.

Doug Wilson, a spokesman for Tesco, said: "The development agreement signals our confidence in the future prosperity of Gateshead."

Leader of Gateshead Council, Mick Henry, said: "It is hoped that this will turn Trinity Square into a vibrant centre that meets the long held aspirations of Gateshead - town centre has been in need of regeneration.

"This agreement follows careful but complicated negotiations in which we have both taken into consideration economic change, changes in shopping habits and how and when people travel."