Historic landfill sites in South Shields
The Environment Agency records 29 historic landfill sites in and around South Shields. covering roughly 372 hectares in total. The largest is Temple Memorial Park No.1 at 70.41 ha. Recorded waste ranges up to industrial waste. Data: October 2025 revision.
Recorded landfill boundaries around South Shields (indicative, digitised at 1:10,000).
All recorded sites, largest first
| Site | Area | Last input | Waste types |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temple Memorial Park No.1 | 70.41 ha | 1994 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Temple Park No.3 | 70.41 ha | — | IndustrialHouseholdCommercial |
| Temple Park No.2 | 70.41 ha | — | IndustrialCommercialInert |
| Newton Garths | 17.03 ha | 1981 | IndustrialCommercialInert |
| Tyne Dock Extension | 16.05 ha | — | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Tyne Dock | 16.05 ha | 1993 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Tyne Dock No.3 | 16.05 ha | 1987 | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Frenchman's Lea | 14.36 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Gypsies Green | 14.11 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Port of Tyne Authority | 8.7 ha | 1972 | Waste types not recorded |
| Graham Sands - Trow Quarry | 8.11 ha | — | IndustrialHouseholdCommercial |
| Tyne Dock Landfill | 5.97 ha | — | Inert |
| Temple Memorial Park | 5.02 ha | 1971 | IndustrialCommercialInert |
| Tileshed Piggery | 4.79 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Royal Quays | 4.44 ha | 1994 | Industrial |
| Tileshed Farm | 4.44 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Boldon Lane | 4.06 ha | 1979 | Inert |
| West Dock | 3.35 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| New Road | 3.27 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Newton Garth B | 2.78 ha | — | IndustrialHouseholdCommercialInert |
| Newton Garths Extension | 2.72 ha | 1982 | IndustrialCommercialInert |
| Herd Sand | 2.6 ha | — | IndustrialHouseholdCommercial |
| Smiths Park | 2.15 ha | 1986 | Inert |
| Brigham and Cowans | 1.24 ha | 1986 | Inert |
| Olive Street | 1.05 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
| Waterville Road | 0.86 ha | 1983 | Inert |
| Westway | 0.75 ha | 1983 | Inert |
| West Holborn | 0.24 ha | 1983 | Waste types not recorded |
| Albert Edward Dock | 0.2 ha | — | Waste types not recorded |
What this data does — and doesn't — cover
- Licensed-era records only. Waste licensing began in 1974. Older tips — especially small pre-war ones — are incompletely recorded, so absence from this data does not mean no landfill ever existed here.
- Not the contaminated-land register. Councils hold a separate register of land determined as contaminated. A historic landfill entry is not a contamination determination, and vice versa.
- Boundaries are indicative. Digitised at 1:10,000 scale; some are buffers around a point rather than surveyed edges.
- Not a substitute for a formal environmental search. If you're buying, your conveyancer's environmental search checks this and several other sources.
EA Historic Landfill dataset, October 2025 revision. More on the methodology page.
Common questions
- How many former landfill sites are there in South Shields?
- 29 historic (closed) landfill sites are recorded within about 15km of South Shields town centre in the Environment Agency's Historic Landfill dataset (October 2025 revision). Pre-1974 sites are incompletely recorded, so the true historical number is likely higher.
- How do I check a specific address in South Shields?
- Search the postcode on Landfill Check — you'll see every recorded site within 1km, with distance, direction and waste types, measured to the site boundary.
Nearby areas
Worth reading: buying a house near a former landfill and what the waste types mean.