Metrocentre has struck a landmark agreement with Gateshead Council to deliver a massive brownfield regeneration plan to build more than 4,500 homes along the south bank of the River Tyne.

The Metro Riverside project will transform under-used land around the shopping centre into a mixed-use, carbon-neutral district designed as a “city within a city”, with Metrocentre repositioned at its core.

Plans centre on compact, walkable neighbourhoods supported by upgraded transport links and a broadened offer spanning retail, leisure, workspace and community uses.

The scheme will sit around a re-imagined Metrocentre, evolving the site beyond its traditional retail role.

Backers say the development could more than double the estate’s economic contribution to over £2bn a year by 2045, marking one of the largest regeneration projects outside the M25 and a major vote of confidence in the North East.

Proposals also include new green corridors and stronger pedestrian and cycle connections to the River Tyne and surrounding communities.