Having only been in office for a couple of months and with a crazy busy schedule, I Love North Shields was very grateful to the newly elected Mayor of North Tyneside, Karen Clark, for sparing an hour of a busy Wednesday afternoon to chat to us about all things North Shields.
Catching up with her in the mayoral office within the council building at the Cobalt, I was a little nervous and realised on being invited inside, I’d made a basic gaffe and forgotten to check out how I should address her – ‘Madam Mayor’ Google advised me afterwards. I needn’t have worried about formalities however as the mayor greeted me with a warm smile and a friendly handshake, instantly giving a relaxing vibe to our meeting.
My first observation was how ordinary her office was – just bog-standard office furniture and plain walls with not a hint of any grandeur. I expressed my surprise and joked that I had expected at least a gilt throne. Karen smiled and said she did have plans to brighten the place up a bit with some artwork on the walls but had no plans for installing a throne any time soon. Unsurprisingly this busy woman, now responsible for twenty council wards and sixty councillors, has more on her plate than interior décor.
Getting down to business, I asked Karen, Longbenton born and bred, if she had any connection to North Shields prior to becoming its mayor. Absolutely was the response and she recalled family outings as a child and then bringing her own children to the town for the annual fish quay festival. More recently, as a keen cyclist, she has been enjoying the coast cycle route. As mayor however, she explained that she now sees things from a different perspective and has been taking time to visit the area to appreciate in more depth what is going on, what the local challenges are and what improvements can be made.
She spoke about the £31.8 million which has been spent on regeneration in the town so far and the positive progress made in areas such as the transport hub, the riverside walkway and the Elevation mural project. She described a town with “such a lot going on and such a lot going for it.” Is there anything she is particularly impressed with in North Shields I queried? She gave a categoric vote for Northumberland Square and the restoration of this ‘Georgian gem.’ Karen said she had always loved this public space, even more so since it had been developed and she described how the recent YMCA family fun day, their NS800 celebration, had been one of her year’s highlights so far. Seeing families having fun and enjoying the space had been particularly memorable. “And of course you can’t not love the fish quay with all its heritage,” she continued, adding that she thought that with the addition of the new walkway, the area was ‘phenomenal.’
Moving on to a local concern, that of crime and personal safety in the town, I was surprised to hear some very reassuring statistics including that anti-social behaviour reports had actually fallen 31% in North Shields compared to the same period in 2024. In more good news, I learned the town is to get an upgraded CCTV system – the first in the Northeast to get this state of the art, HD technology which uses AI to good effect. It can identify unusual behaviour and help find and identify offenders far more quickly and effectively than the current system. In addition to helping tackle issues such as anti-social behaviour and the current blight of shoplifting cases which affects local businesses, it will hopefully have the effect of reassuring people that their town centre is a safer place to be.
Running alongside this technology and sympathetic to the positivity the public feels about the traditional ‘bobby on the beat,’ the mayor described plans to have a more visible police presence in the town. The first step is the imminent opening of a new office based within the transport hub, to be occupied by a team of police officers and the council’s Community Protection Team. There to provide a presence and support, there will also be a neighbourhood element with things like ‘Cuppa with a Copper’ pop in sessions designed to engage residents and give them the chance to have an informal chat with local officers.
Further conversation followed about the NS800 celebrations, the town’s vibrant arts and culture scene and plans for developing tourism in the area. It was however during a discussion about young people that the mayor’s words became particularly heartfelt and she described one of her key priorities being to promote and advance the future of our young people. She hopes developing an area they are proud to call home will be a move towards that goal and she wants them to be able to hold their heads up high when they say, “I come from North Shields.” She believes that feeling good about your environment has a positive impact on developmental issues such as education, career advancement and self-belief.
A related priority and personal passion is tackling the huge issues of poverty, inequality and injustice. Setting up the North Shields Working Well Hub was one step in that direction, the hub offering a one stop shop to help people resolve a myriad of life’s complicated problems. She described her involvement in setting up the hub as one of the achievements of which she is most proud. Though it was incredibly difficult to set up, she explained, it was worth overcoming every hurdle as it has been an outstanding success, helping over twenty thousand people to date, and the model is set to be rolled out all over North Tyneside.
Though still in the early days, Karen’s hope is that her term as mayor will be one where the public feel involved, valued and listened to. She is a strong believer in consultation and working with people and wants them to feel important in the decision-making process.
Bringing our meeting to a close, I asked what she thought of our ILNS magazine. Her enthusiasm seemed genuine as she expressed thanks to everyone involved for doing a phenomenal job in spreading positive messages about the town. Describing the magazine as an excellent example of working together, she said it summed up one of her main philosophies – if you feel good about where you live, you feel good about yourself. A sentiment we couldn’t agree with more!
