8 Ways to Improve Prior’s Haven
12th Feb 2025
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Forgotten or taken for granted by many, here’s how this little gem of a cove could really shine as it should:
- Build a landing jetty onto the Pier and operate boat tours up and down the bays in the summer.
- Illuminate the Castle and Priory, like Whitby Abbey does. It makes the place a more famous landmark and a source of local pride. The Priory was lit up in the 80s but as with many things in the borough, pessimism and costcutting set in.
- Reopen the Pier lookout deck, with stairs going safely down to the Pebble Beach. Put a telescope on it.
- Put telescopes on the Spanish Battery. You get the finest views from there, down the coast, out to sea and up the river and beyond.
- Transform the Pier Keeper’s House. It’s owned by the Duke of Northumberland, but what should be a lovely and unique cottage has become an embarrassing wreck. The Council should exercise their powers over it if they have to, as it is a disgrace. If Cliff’s Bakery on Linskill Terrace can be transformed into a home and a business, Pier Cottage can be.
- Reopen the Castle Banks. They were open at the bottom until the 2000s. It makes no sense to have them fenced off, and as public land it’s a massive right of way issue. At the end of the day, children should be able to play down there without a barrier to the beach. Anyone who grew up in Tynemouth hates the fact English Heritage did that. A first step would be opening it for periods, as there is a locked gate within the fence.
- Do something with the Sea Scouts hut. It’s a resource in a key place and should be a local amenity and enterprise.
- The Howlings needs managing. In the last twenty years it’s become very overgrown. You can spin it as some kind of wildlife corridor but actually the scrub just prevents people enjoying what could be an idyllic little valley.
What say you?
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