Paul Hanson, Chief Executive of North Tyneside Council, said: “Following the latest guidance from the Government on managing the coronavirus outbreak, we have taken the decision to close a number of our buildings to the public.

“Closures will include libraries, leisure centres and other sports venues, and will come into effect from Tuesday evening (tonight) until further notice.

“Events planned for the coming months will also be postponed, in view of the Government’s latest advice, and to ensure the safety of our residents and colleagues, which is our top priority.

“It is important to stress that essential frontline services will continue, and our teams are working exceptionally hard to ensure that they do. Our customer first centres will remain partially open for essential customer services, housing and medical services only.

“We remain in regular contact with Public Health England, NHS and central Government so that we can act and react to new guidance as it becomes available and we are keeping the situation under constant review.

“Venues will only reopen when it is deemed safe to do so, and we will provide regular updates for local people.

“I’d like to thank our residents for bearing with us during these unprecedented times.”

Library closures:

• Battle Hill Library
• Cullercoats Library
• Forest Hall Library
• Howdon Library
• Monkseaton Library
• Shiremoor Library
• Wideopen Library

(Tynemouth Library closed recently for redevelopment, but the replacement mobile bus will now be withdrawn as part of the package of measures).

Customer First Centres at Wallsend, Whitley Bay, North Shields and White Swan Centre in Killingworth, along with the Oxford Centre in Longbenton and John Willie Sams Centre in Dudley will be open for access to essential customer service, housing and medical services only.

Events postponed: 

• The North Tyneside 10k Road Race has been postponed and will instead take place on Sunday 18 October 2020. Anyone with an entry in the race will automatically have their place in the rescheduled event. Refunds are available for anyone unable to participate.
• Tynemouth Food Festival has been postponed and new dates will be confirmed for the event at Tynemouth Priory. All tickets remain valid for the rescheduled event, but full refunds are available.
• We are reviewing planned activities for the celebration of VE Day on 8 May and these are likely to be cancelled.
• The visitor centre at St Mary’s Lighthouse will be closed as will the borough’s museums at Segedunum and Stephenson Steam Railway.
• Public performances at Playhouse, Whitley Bay will be suspended till further notice and where possible existing performances will be re-scheduled to later in the year.
• At this time the Mouth of the Tyne Festival planned for July 9-July 12 is not postponed at this time. A decision will be made at a later date on whether this is necessary.

Sport and leisure facility closures:

• Waves Leisure Pool
• Tynemouth Pool
• Hadrian Leisure Centre
• The Lakeside Centre
• The Parks Sports Centre
• Whitley Bay Mini Golf Course
• Shiremoor Adventure Playground
• All outdoor sports facilities
• All Active North Tyneside activities

*For customers who have a Contours membership, all memberships will be suspended, and payments frozen until such a time as we re-open.