Dunston, Tyne and Wear
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Dunston was originally an independent village and is now an area of Gateshead in the English county of Tyne and Wear.
Dunston is located on the River Tyne. Formerly the site of an advanced power station, it is now home to the MetroCentre, the largest shopping and leisure centre in Europe<ref>MetroCentre</ref>.
The area is serviced by the Dunston railway station, along the Tyne Valley Line.
Dunston is split into two distinct areas, separated by the A1 dual carriageway, Dunston and Dunston Hill.
Dunston is home of the "Derwent Tower", commonly known as the "Dunston Rocket", a tower block that was once the highest in Gateshead, and was designed by the Owen Luder Partnership and completed in 1973.<ref>SINE Project: Derwent Tower</ref> Luder also designed the Trinity Centre Multi-Storey Car Park in Gateshead town centre.
On 6 June 1993 the IRA attacked a gas holder in the nearby area of Low Team. The damage was limited and no one was injured.<ref>Damages bid over bombing arrests</ref>
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[edit] Dunston Staiths: History
Dunston is particularly known for its wooden Staiths (or Staithes), 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 Staiths, and they continued to be used until the 1970s. They were finally closed and partially dismantled in 1980.
The Staiths were restored and reopened for the National Garden Festival held in Gateshead in 1990. Following similar events in Liverpool (1984), Stoke on Trent (1986) and Glasgow (1988), the Garden Festival occupied a large area of Dunston between the riverside and Team Valley including the now-demolished site of the power station. Though other parts of the Garden Festival site, sich as the Eslington and Norwood areas, gained an immediate spur for regeneration, the area around the Staiths remained derelict and inaccessible for the whole of the 1990s.
[edit] Dunston Staiths: Today
Today, the Staiths are reputed to be the largest wooden structure in Europe <ref>Sitelines archaeology project: Dunston Staithes</ref>, and are protected as a Listed Building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
In 2002, work began on a development of stylish riverside apartments and houses designed by Wayne Hemingway. Known as Staiths South Bank, this development celebrates the area's heritage as well as improving the setting for the historic structure. Unfortunately, in the early hours of 20 November 2003, a section of the Staiths was destroyed by fire <ref>"Coal heritage goes up in flames" (from BBC News)</ref>. As a result, access onto the Staiths 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 Staiths' restoration.
[edit] Trivia
Footballer Paul Gascoigne<ref>English-Football.org.uk: Paul Gascoigne</ref> and singer Brian Johnson grew up in Dunston, as well as a Maltese International Rugby Player, Ryan Robson.
[edit] References
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