Presented by John Grundy, this sponsored video for the Tyne & Wear Development Corporation (TWDC), an organisation started by the British government to develop and improve areas of the inner cities, promotes their completed and future flagship urban developments on the banks of the rivers Tyne and Wear. Including regeneration of the East Quayside in Newcastle, Royal Quays in North Shields, the Hylton business park and St Peter's in Sunderland. The video records the opening of the...

Presented by John Grundy, this sponsored video for the Tyne & Wear Development Corporation (TWDC), an organisation started by the British government to develop and improve areas of the inner cities, promotes their completed and future flagship urban developments on the banks of the rivers Tyne and Wear. Including regeneration of the East Quayside in Newcastle, Royal Quays in North Shields, the Hylton business park and St Peter's in Sunderland. The video records the opening of the Newcastle Business Park at Elswick by the Duke of Edinburgh, and includes footage of Concorde, and a walkabout with Princess Diana.  The film begins with a montage sequence consisting of an aerial view of the Tyne Bridge, the Concorde passenger jet, the Great North Run and the Tyne & Wear Development Corporation logo. John Grundy then appears on film to introduce the programme. He outlines the new prosperity that has been brought to the North East region in recent years. A group of people ride in a speed boat on a river, in the background the Newcastle Business Park built on the former derelict site of the Armstrong armaments factory at Elswick. Title: A Tale of Two Rivers Prince Philip unveils a plaque on the site overlooking the Tyne, to officially open the business park. Fireworks and green, blue and orange balloons are released from a tugboat on the river to celebrate the occasion Inside the building belonging to Bowey Group Offices members of the Development Corporation and resident businesses applaud as Prince Philip reveals a plaque celebrating the opening of the office building on 15th February 1991. Prince Philip is shown a large display of photographs which illustrate new developments on both the Tyne and the Wear. The display is titled ‘A Tale of Two Rivers – Progress to Date’ A flag flies the Tyne and Wear logo. General view of the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation building. The film shows the derelict area where the Armstrong armaments factory once stood, followed by a view of the construction of the business park by Dysart Developments. Views follow of the interior of one of the units on the business park, followed by a view through a window overlooking the Tyne. Concorde takes off from an airport, and is shown in flight. The commentary states that British Airways has established an information management unit and a sales department at the new business park. Title: Lord King – Chairman, British Airways Lord King speaks on camera about why his company chose Newcastle for new offices. Staff work at computers in the office, and a gathering of officials takes place in an office space not yet fitted out. A large hoarding erected by the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation advertises the business park. Beneath the corporation’s logo a line of text reads ‘The Dawning of a New Age for Business. The film follows on with a view of Mikasa House, one of the office blocks on the business park which has attracted Japanese businesses such as the Japanese bank Sanwa and the Japanese company Ikeda. A still photograph shows Michael Heseltine planting a tree and shaking the hand of one of two Japanese women wearing traditional costume. A Japanese family admire a model of one of Lord Armstrong’s ships on display in a glass cabinet. A painting shows some other famous ships built in the North East. The film goes on to show a travelling view of Ark Royal built at Swan Hunter. John Grundy tells of how the Ark Royal in 1988 would have past derelict land around the Albert Edward dock as it sailed down the Tyne. A still photograph shows the old dock, and a white line maps the perimeter of the derelict area. General views follow of derelict land, then a semi-detached house on a poor estate. This is followed by views of redundant cranes at an old shipyard, and an old track which runs by the Tyne with a mechanical shovel working in the distance. Another general view shows more derelict land, followed by demolition work being done on the Tyne in front of the old bonded warehouses in Hanover Street, Newcastle. A cement mixer deposits new concrete at the works being carried out to support the banks along the Tyne. The film cuts to a stylised map of the Tyne and Wear area. Title: Tyne & Wear Development Areas Title: Tyneside Coloured zones map out the banks of the Tyne each one representing a development area. Title: Wearside Coloured zones map out its designated development areas. General view of a building site and an information board. The board reads Tyne & Wear Development Corporation – Closegate Developments Limited – Copthorne Hotel. The camera pulls back to show the extent of the development. New buildings are located on a business park. Title: By 1997 investment will total a thousand million pounds. The film moves to a meeting room where two groups face each other. The chairman is Paul Nicholson (Vaux Breweries) supported by a number of community leaders. Joe Mills, a local union leader, is a board member and speaks off camera as the film picks out each board member. Prince Philip is shown around the offices of the development corporation. Alastair Balls is the chief executive and he speaks on camera about the corporation. Title: Alastair Balls – Chief Executive T.W.D.C. John Grundy piece to camera stating the case for local people and what they want from the development. A still photograph follows showing a group of people around a table: Title: Sunderland: North Docks The people involved belong to one of many monitoring panels, representing each major location where they meet to discuss the plans for change. Another photograph follows of one of the other panels Title: Newcastle: East Quayside Followed by: Title: North Shields The film shows the meeting in North Shields Title: 1988 [over land site] A view of a land site illustrates a development idea put forward by Barratt the builders. A proposal to build a waterside village on the old Hawthorn Leslie shipbuilding yard. An architectural model shows what the village might look like. The camera pans across an area of land where Building is taking place on the land: private and rented dwellings are available. A notice for the Nomad Housing Group advertises 24 one and two bedroomed apartments for rent. Title: Dec. 1989 On the balcony of one of the new apartments a young couple stand and look at the view. A high angle view from across the Tyne shows the extent of this new development. Diana, Princess of Wales, arrives to officially open the new St Peter’s housing complex. She is greeted by Paul Nicholson, the chairman of the Tyne & Wear Development Corporation. Crowds nearby stand behind metal barriers and schoolchildren wave small Union Jack flags. A policeman stands nearby. Princes Diana appears and walks down the length of the metal fencing talking to children and parents and taking gifts of flowers. The camera picks out the many people who have come to catch a glimpse of the Princess, cameras at the ready! The film cuts to an older housing estate, Meadowell, where children are playing in the street. A meeting of the Meadowell monitoring pane takes place, members impressed by the St Peter’s development. Title: Ann Johnson Ann Johnson, one of the members, talks about the development, and a proposal development for the Royal Quays. Views follow of parts of the St Peter’s basin development, showing the range of types of house available. At another development near St Peters, the T&WDC in partnership with Cheviot housing build another mixed housing development. Princess Diana arrives for the official opening. An official tea is held with invited senior citizens and residents in attendance. On a wall the Princess unveils a plaque commemorating the event. Title: The pledge – One home in every four will be “low-cost” or for rent [title over crowds behind steel fencing waiting for a glimpse of the princess.] General view of the two main bridges which cross the river Wear in Sunderland, the Monkwearmouth railway bridge and the Wearmouth Bridge. Views follow of some of the green spaces, roads, quays and footpaths which have been improved along the banks of the Wear and the Tyne. A new footpath along the Tyne will stretch 8 miles from Elswick in Newcastle to the river mouth. Notice boards for the T&WDC advertise the new site for the Royal Quays development. Another stretch of cleared land is shown. Joe Mills, union leader and a member of the T&WDC, speaks at the Meadowell Monitoring group about the need for more industry on these cleared sites. Title: T&WDC has made grants worth four million pounds to over sixty companies [title over three flagpoles] Various company premises have been established due to the work of the T&WDC. These firms include Goldstar a video production company. A large crane stands on the Tyne. General view of an oil exploration rig. An executive shows Prince Philip around an open plan office involved with oil exploration work on the Tyne. An aerial view shows another derelict site where a new technology park is being built. At a busy building site a man shovels material out of a metal bin possibly the hopper of a dumper truck, while next to him a sign reads ‘Central Business and Technology Park’. Two mechanical shovels prepare the foundations of a road surface near some new office or workshop blocks. General views follow of the Tyne Bridge and the east quayside, where development work will be taking place, the old Co-operative building on the quayside (now Malmaison). Other views follow of derelict or semi-derelict factories and other work premises. Panoramic view of the cityscape which overlooks the east quayside. A public presentation and exhibition takes place with displays presented by the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation as part of the ‘Quayside 1990’s Exhibition’ Another general view of the east quayside site follows, the commentary stating that the corporation had to consult with 50 different interests to acquire the site. There follows an artist’s impression of how the finished mixture of homes, office and commercial buildings of the new development might look when finished. Title: Corporation will invest fifty million pounds – Developers many millions more – Creating over 2500 jobs [over artist impression of one of the new office buildings] More artist’s impressions of the development follow. A still photo appears showing the members of the East Quayside monitoring panel. John Grundy walks across the road in front of one of the new buildings. A general view follows of the new hotel on the quayside just west of the Tyne Bridge. General view follows of the Wearmouth Bridge at Sunderland, and an aerial view of the river Wear. An aerial photograph shows development work taking place at the old Hylton Colliery. Part of the site for redevelopment is still covered in grass and bushes, destined to become a country park and conservation area. Prince Charles meets and greets dignitaries at Sunderland to commemorate the start of development work. A roadside sign reads ‘Tyne & wear Development Corporation – Hylton Riverside £4 million Land Renewal Programme. The Prince operates a mechanical shovel to break the ground for initial land reclamation. A large landscraper begins removing burning coal which is just below the land surface in some places. Views follow of the extensive work undertaken on reclaiming the land. New buildings now occupy the new ‘Hylton Park’. A roadside sign displays the name. A Tyne and Wear Development Corporation notice reads ‘Sunderland Enterprise Park – Gateway to the UK’s newest Enterprise Zone’, part of the Hylton Park development. An artist’s impression shows how the former Southwick shipyard might look after development. Title: Southwick: Engineering – 2000 jobs potential A view of the Wearmouth Bridge shows a banner attached to it which reads ‘Congratulations City of Sunderland’ celebrating Sunderland’s new city status. General views show newly reclaimed land near the historic centre of St Peter’s which is due for redevelopment. A brief view of the church itself is followed by an artist’s impression of the new development on the riverside. General views show the riverside area on the Wear. An aerial view of the river mouth where a new marina and leisure will be built is shown as an architectural model. A general view shows a cleared area of land at the river mouth. A photograph shows two men, one in a suit peering out of the cab of an excavator, a notice just below where they are sitting reads ‘North Haven’. An aerial view shows a former shipyard area at Deptford where a crane manufacturer has established new premises. Shaw’s furniture now trains apprentices and produces furniture at other premises. John Dellow the manager speaks on camera about his experiences with the establishment of the new facility. Some employees are at work on various furniture items. One of the workers speaks on camera about his experiences of being made redundant from the shipyard and getting his new job at Shaws. An apprentice is shown one of the computer aided machines that produce some of the furniture. General view of a Sunderland city centre street, as a photograph appears over it showing members of the Sunderland monitoring group. Another photo shows a staff member of local radio station Wear FM. An array of publicity material produced by the T&WDC is shown. Title: Telling the World about the New North East These publications illustrate the other aspect of the work of the development corporation, promoting the North East. Pictures show more of the advertising and promotional material produced by the T&WDC. Visitors are enjoying the National Garden Festival at Gateshead in 1990. Sylvester McCoy, who plays Dr Who at the festival, talks to a group of children at Meadowell School, North Shields. The Dome of Discovery at the Garden Festival was installed by the T&WDC. Dr Who flanked by two ‘aliens’ appear at the entrance of the dome, which is designed to resemble the Doctor’s ‘TARDIS’. Inside the dome on a wide screen, ‘Dr Who’ helps promote the area as he appears in a short film. A monorail train modelled in the shape of a caterpillar carries a message advertising the promotional film. General views show other attractions at the garden festival, including a dragon with a nodding head. A figure in a smart suit sits in a silver chair, alongside a path at the garden festival. His head is hidden by an umbrella, when he closes the umbrella, instead of head he has a flowering plant pot. Festival visitors leave the Dome of Discovery via the ‘TARDIS’ entrance. A general view follows of the river Wear and a group of people enjoying a sight-seeing trip on a pleasure boat. An aerial view shows the Royal Quays development site, formerly the Albert Edward dock. An artist’s impression and architectural models illustrate the extent of the future development. Title: Royal Quays – Investment: Two hundred million pounds – 1500 homes – 3000 jobs [title over building work at the Royal Quays] An aerial view follows of the site. The film cuts to the Meadowell monitoring group, where member Margaret Nolan speaks, followed by Nancy Peters who talks about opportunities that might benefit young people. Joe Mills, T&WDC member, talks to the group. The film goes on to a meeting of the Royal Quays monitoring group, discussing training opportunities. John Scally T&WDC director, talks to the group. A board is attached to a building which reads: ‘North Tyneside Sea Fisheries Training Centre’ at North Shields which was funded by the T&WDC. A young apprentice repairs a fishing net. A roadside notice gives information about the Fish Quay Improvement work which is being undertaken and is making improvements to the waterfront. General views show other new developments including new apartments along the waterfront. An artist’s impression shows how a new Fishing Experience Centre might show the history of fishing in the area. Fishing boats are moored at the North Shields quay. Next follows general views of a parade and floats celebrating the North Shields Fish Quay Festival. Decorated boats go out on the Tyne and the waterfront is crowded with visitors. On the south side of the river a heritage centre celebrates Bede near his church. A historic Saxon estate will be reclaimed and reconstructed. Artist’s impressions show one of the old buildings which may be reconstructed. Back on the Tyne, the Port of Tyne authority has an ambitious expansion plan. General views show the Tyne, and cranes unloading cargo from ships. General views follow of Jarrow as the commentary outlines development work there. A new industrial park is also promised. Title: Viking Industrial Park – 1500 jobs. Other developments on South Tyneside will be a hotel and coastal village, called Littlehaven. An architectural model shows how it will look. A stylised map labelled ‘Tyneside’ illustrates the range of development work undertaken by the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation. This is followed by a similar map for Wearside. A T&WDC flag flies in a strong breeze from a flagpole. A T&WDC executive sums up the benefits that such an organisation can bring to an area. General views show many of the developments already covered in the film, as the commentary sums up. John Grundy speaks to camera about the future of the area, and of a big event occurring in 1993, the Tall Ships Race. Some archive footage of a previous tall ships race follows on. The film ends with the T&WDC logo.