The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
‘Top job’ as Dunston Staiths reopens alongside £1.5m trail
GRADE II-LISTED STRUCTURE SHUT AFTER ARSON ATTACKS
DUNSTON Staiths has been opened up to the public for the first time since before the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Staiths were reopened on Thursday to coincide with the launch of the Tyne Derwent Way, a £1.5m redevelopment of a trail which connects Gateshead Quays with Gibside in the Derwent Valley.
The Grade II-listed structure closed after arson attacks in 2019 and 2020, racking up £300,000 worth of damage. These fires came after The Staiths underwent an £800,000 restoration in 2014 and 2015.
And the structure’s owners the Tyne and Wear Building Preservation
Trust are delighted that it will now open again, after four years of restoration to that former glory.
Martin Hulse, manager of Tyne and Wear Building Preservation Trust, said: “It’s a bit of a relief! What we realised with the Staiths is that we needed help, we needed a bigger partnership and the National Trust and the council have given us a lot of help. The Staiths is a lovely structure to look at, but we only really understand it once we get on it.
“And to stand on top of it, it’s a wonderful place to show people.”
The Tyne and Wear Building Preservation Trust has also taken over the running of St Mary’s Heritage Centre from Gateshead Council, the starting point of the Tyne Derwent Way. Martin added: “Our main interest is the Staiths, but we’ve taken this building on a 99-year lease.
“We realised we needed to reach into the city centre, and this has a number of functions.
“Primarily, it’s an events space but we’re bringing schools in and showing off the history.”
Dunston Staiths will be open on the first Saturday of every month from 10am-2pm from May to September, as well as for special events such as the Late Shows and Gateshead International Festival of Theatre.