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[Jon]

After a trip to Staithes earlier in the week I thought I'd go and see if I could get near the staithes at Dunston. If you've ever seen Get Carter then you've seen them before, and I remember messing about on them as a kid, but they have been derelict for a while, and locked off for years.

 

Today the gate was open.

 

Found out from the local Bobby (appeared as I got back in the car) that the intention is for the gate to be open every Wednesday over the summer, starting today!

 

A bit of history (stolen from wikipedia) - 

"first opened in 1893 as a structure for loading coal from the North Durham coalfield onto ships. In the 1920s 140,000 tons of coal per week were loaded from the staithes, and they continued to be used until the 1970s. Their use gradually declined with the contraction of the coal industry, and they were finally closed and partially dismantled in 1980.

Today, the staithes are reputed to be the largest wooden structure in Europe, and are protected as a Listed Building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.The staithes were restored and reopened for the Gateshead Garden Festival in 1990. Following similar events in Liverpool (1984), Stoke on Trent (1986) and Glasgow (1988), the Garden Festival occupied a large area of Dunston and Team Valley. Though other parts of the Garden Festival site, such as the Eslington and Norwood areas of Team Valley, gained an immediate spur for regeneration, the area around the staithes remained derelict and inaccessible for the whole of the 1990s.

In 2002, work began on a development of riverside apartments and houses designed by Wayne Hemingway. Known asStaiths South Bank, this development celebrates the area's heritage as well as improving the setting for the historic structure. In the early hours of 20 November 2003, a section of the staithes was destroyed by fire. As a result, access onto the Staithes themselves is not possible, but the structure can be viewed from the new riverside walkway constructed as part of the Staiths South Bank development. In 2005 Gateshead Council commissioned a study into possible options for the Staithes' restoration.

The Staithes suffered further fire damage in July 2010. Following the award of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of almost £420,000 restoration of the structure is expected to begin in April 2014"

 

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[Jon]

I parked in the club car park and wandered over to see how close I could get and the gate was propped open, I wandered back and forth for a bit, there was not a soul about so I just wandered in

[JamWheel]

A nice collection, Jon - particularly like the lines at work in 3rd.

[ChrisLumix]

I really like those last two shots. (A bit less sure about the mono).