Major housing plans for Gateshead and Newcastle

The developments would include affordable housing

Thousands of new homes need to be built on Tyneside over the next 20 years to ensure the area remains competitive, two local authorities have said.

Newcastle and Tyneside councils said new developments were needed to allow the area to attract new jobs and opportunities and boost the population.

Some of the 36,000 properties could be built on green belt land, others in existing villages.

Residents can give their views during a public consultation in October.

The NewcastleGateshead One Core Strategy and Urban Core Area Action Plan includes a large scale review of land to identify areas suitable for employment and housing uses.

Proposals include redevelopment in Bensham, Scotswood, Birtley and Walker, and new developments in areas such as Team Valley and at Newcastle International Airport.

'Future prosperity'

There would also be expansion of villages such as Chopwell and Dinnington, which the councils said would give "outlying areas long term viability".

It is envisaged that some of the developments would include affordable housing.

Leader of Gateshead Council, Mick Henry, said: "To compete with other areas in the country and to maintain and enhance our current quality of life, we must be able to keep pace with the growth of other major centres.

"In difficult financial times like this, it is ever more important to lay the foundations for future prosperity and this strategy does just that."