The Boldons

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The Boldons are a group of three villages - East Boldon, West Boldon and Boldon Colliery - bordering the north of Sunderland and the south of South Shields.

Until 1974 the area was administered by Boldon Urban District Council in County Durham but since then has been part of the borough of South Tyneside.

Boldon Colliery used to be a mining village. The mine shut down in 1983, but more jobs became available when an ASDA opened in 1986, and recently through the development of Boldon Business Park. Boldon Colliery also has its own multi-screen cinema and a McDonald's drive-thru restaurant. The main school in the area is Boldon Comprehensive School.

1 Environment
2 Housing
3 Development
4 Links

[edit] Environment

When the pit in Boldon was closed in 1983, the land lay derelict for many years until the year 2000, when the Colliery wood was planted. Over 2,500 trees were planted, which are now popular with the local community, and provide a home for many wild animals such as pheasants, squirrels, woodpeckers and even some otters, which were living in some of the many lakes surrounded by reeds. Now the colliery wood provides six new paths, which are used for walking and are suitable for cycling, and link to East Boldon, Brockley Whins and the Whiteleas Estate. One of the top wildlife sites in the Borough, Boldon Flats, is an area of damp pasture which is flooded from October to March to attract a spectacular show of bird life and a large population of Common Frogs.

[edit] Housing

The first street built in Boldon Colliery itself was Fenwick Street, built in 1871. This street was built initially for miners who would quite possibly find it easier to live closer to the pits. Several years later, other major housing projects were started, and estates such as Arnold street and Charles street were built. The river Don which runs through Boldon Colliery is the last stronghold of water voles in the borough of South Tyneside.

[edit] Development

In the last 30 or so years, Boldon as a whole has developed dramatically. Current construction projects in the area include a new 17.5 million pound school, major new housing developments and the production of a brand new children's park on old farm land which has lay derelict for some years now.

The arrival of the new Boldon School became imminent, as a delay of over a year already damaged construction timing. The consruction process was funded by mega-million pound development company Mighty PFI and constructed by Gleeson Building company and other small businesses. On the 6th of November 2006, Boldon School finally opened, boasting facilities such as an 1 million pound Theatre open to the public, top-of-the-range Arts facilities, Olympic-sized swimming pool, Brand new sports facilities such as 5-a-side football pitches and gym, and computerised technology incorperated into the schools meals service, with school children now using a card system to buy meals from the school- a brand new privately run catering service which supplies meals which compramise with the Jamie Oliver regime which is sweeping the country.