Willmott Dixon has partnered with North Tyneside Council to deliver a sustainable transport hub and town square in North Shields.

The appointment follows similar recent work secured that includes Tarleton Academy in Preston that will be net-zero carbon, while in North Wiltshire, Willmott Dixon is delivering a £29m net-zero carbon school build at Silverwood School’s Rowde campus, extending the existing campus to provide a high-quality environment for 350 SEND pupils by September 2023.

These low carbon schemes for North Tyneside Council form part of the council’s Ambition for North Shields and the Fish Quay Masterplan, and subject to a successful funding bid to the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) through the Department for Transport, both projects will breathe new life into the town centre and riverside, providing the right environment to support businesses, leisure users and retail.

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The proposed transport hub will provide a modern and convenient, high-quality facility bringing all bus services in the town together and closer to Metro, taxis and links to cycling infrastructure – making it easier for people to choose cleaner, greener forms of travel. The proposals also include local amenities such as public toilets and a Changing Places facility.

The site will also feature a new open town square for events and leisure activities with new public realm creating a much-needed green space in the heart of the town centre and increasing biodiversity in an urban environment. The square will link the town centre to the vibrant Fish Quay using a series of walkways, providing much-improved accessibility with step-free routes and steps with handrails, coupled with the opportunity for further green space.

Sustainability will be at the heart of the projects, with the transport hub being targeted as the first net zero carbon building in North Tyneside. To achieve this, the structure will incorporate an enhanced building envelope to maximise airtightness, coupled with an array of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and a surface water management system.

The project has undertaken a Life Cycle Carbon Assessment to understand and take steps to reduce the embodied carbon footprint of the project. This was done by assessing the design at the earliest stage then amending the design to use techniques, products and materials to reduce the embodied carbon by a target of 40%.