Westerhope

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Westerhope is an electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Westerhope is located in the North-West of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The Westerhope ward is one of Newcastle's 26 electoral wards. It covers the areas of Westerhope Village, Hillheads Estate, Chapel Park, Chapel House and St. John's. The average house prices in the ward are £228,000.

Westerhope Village lies 4 miles west of the city centre and has been part of Newcastle-upon-Tyne since 1974.The village enters the annual `villages in bloom´ competition, Winning on several occasions. Two pits formerly existed in the village The Westerhope and The North Walbottle these have long closed but used to provide the main source of employment for the area and led to the building of Beaumont Terrace, A street coming off the village crossroads which still has one of the original gas lamps at the top. The 1908 Co-op building is situated at the crossroads where Stamfordham Road meets Newbiggin Lane, Across the road is Cobbler's Corner and Primrose Cottage, part of an old farm. The Orion bingo hall formerly a picture house dates back to 1912.

The village is most notable for being the centre of operation for a North East criminal group that was brought down by one of the largest police operations carried out on UK soil, with the story receiving worldwide coverage in 1997. Before the bust, criminal activity and large scale gang warfare was rife in the village and its surrounding areas, earning the reputation of "The Village of the Damned". However, in recent times the village has seen somewhat of a resurgence and now enjoys its status as regular winner of the Village In Bloom Contest.