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Town in Northumberland, England

Blyth ('/b//l//aɪ//ð/) is a port and seaside town as well as a civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth. It had a population of 37,339 in the 2011 Census. Little is known of the early development of the Blyth area. The oldest archaeological find is an antler hammer dating from the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age period, which was found at Newsham in 1979. Human skulls, a spearhead and a sword dating from the Bronze Age were found in the river in 1890, as well as a bronze axe which was found at South Beach in 1993, and a dagger found at Newsham. Although there is no conclusive evidence of a Roman presence in the area, an earthwork shown on early mapping of the area, at the location of present day Freehold Street, is said to have been a Roman camp, but it has also been argued that it may be of Norsemen origin or date from the Civil War. Debate also surrounds a mosaic which was found near Bath Terrace. Between the 12th and 18th centuries, there were several small settlements and some industrial activity in the area. The principal industries during this period were coal mining, fishing and the salt trade. Shipbuilding in the area dates from 1748. The modern town of Blyth began to develop in the first quarter of the 18th century. Up until 1716, the land around the Blyth area—the Newsham Estate—was owned by the Earls of Derwentwater, but when the third Earl, James Radclyffe, was executed for his part in the Jacobite rising of 1715, the land was forfeited to the crown. The land was bought by Matthew White and his brother in law Richard Ridley. Deep mines were sunk at Cowpen Colliery and Cowpen Square in 1796 and 1804 respectively, In 1853, the Blyth Harbour and Docks Board was formed, then in 1858 the Harbour Act was passed allowing dredging of the harbour to begin. led to the building of new coal loading staiths, as well as the construction of the South Harbour. Blyth railway station, first built in 1847, was relocated in 1867 and rebuilt in 1896, to cope with the increase in goods and passenger traffic. The 1890s saw the filling in of "the Slake" (also known as "the Flanker" or "the Gut"). The Slake was a tidal inlet which stretched south from the river, across the site of today's bus station, along the route of Beaconsfield Street, and on past Crofton Mill Pit. During the 1960s, Blyth entered a period of steep decline. Following the Beeching report, the railway into Blyth was closed in 1965; and in 1966, economic depression resulted in the closure of the shipyards. As the demand for coal fell, due to the increasing use of oil, natural gas and nuclear power as energy sources, the following years saw the closure of many collieries in the area. By the 1980s, the only one left in the town was Bates' Pit, which closed in 1986.

From around the first quarter of the 18th century, until November 1900, the land to the south of the River Blyth was known as South Blyth. It was in the Parish of Earsdon and was run by the Parish Council until 1863, when the South Blyth Local Board was formed. Under the Local Government Act of 1894, South Blyth Local Board became an Urban District Council, then in 1906 it was amalgamated with Cowpen Urban District Council to form Blyth Urban District Council. On 21 September 1922, Blyth UDC became Blyth Municipal Borough Council, and in 1935 its southern boundary was moved south from Meggie's Burn to Seaton Burn. Blyth MBC lasted until 1974, when it was amalgamated with Seaton Valley and Cramlington Urban District Councils, as well as part of Whitley Bay Urban District Council, to form Blyth Valley Borough Council. Blyth Valley—which also included Cramlington and several villages—was 70 square kilometres in size and, according to the Registrar General's Population Estimate for mid 2005, it had a population of 81,600; this gives a population density of 1,166 people per square kilometre. The two tier local government of Northumberland County Council and Blyth Valley Borough Council has been replaced by a unitary authority for the county of Northumberland. Blyth is situated in the parliament constituency of Blyth Valley, which shares its boundaries with the borough. It is divided up into twenty wards, nine of which—Cowpen, Croft, Isabella, Kitty Brewster, Newsham and New Delaval, Plessey, South Beach, South Newsham, and Wensleydale—make up the town of Blyth. Blyth is represented in the House of Commons, as part of the Blyth Valley constituency, by Ian Levy, a Conservative. Blyth is twinned with Solingen, Germany. As part of Blyth Valley it was previously also twinned with Ratingen, Germany and Gelendzhik, Russia.

Blyth is on the coast of North East England, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately 13 mile (21 km) northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne and 16 mile (26 km) north of Sunderland. It is 7 mile (11 km) east of Bedlington, 6 mile (10 km) northeast of Cramlington, 7 mile (11 km) south southeast of Ashington and 7 mile (11 km) south of Newbiggin by the Sea. On the north side of the river are the villages of East Sleekburn, Cambois and North Blyth and to the south of the town are the villages of New Hartley, Seaton Delaval and Seaton Sluice. Some of Blyth's suburbs have origins which can be traced back much further than the town itself; Newsham, Bebside and Cowpen are all believed to have had habitation sites dating from the Romano British, Saxon and Medieval periods, In January 2005, the land in Blyth was made up of 61.87% green space, 11.95% domestic gardens, 8.23% road, 4.85% domestic buildings, 2.03% non domestic buildings, and 11.07% other uses. In October 2023 the sand at Blyth promenade beach was washed away by Storm Ciarán.

The climate in Northumberland is generally cool and dry. Compared with the rest of the United Kingdom, the weather there is relatively stable, and extreme conditions, such as floods, droughts, or heatwaves, are rare. Below are the average maximum and minimum temperatures, and average rainfall recorded between 1971 and 2000 at the Met Office weather station in Boulmer, which is around 33 kilometres (21 mi) north of Blyth. The average maximum temperatures between April and October are around 1–2½ °C lower than the national average and the average minimum temperatures between May and August are around ½ °C below the national average; both the average maximum and minimum temperatures for the remainder of the year are about the same as the national average. The average rainfall in Northumberland is well below the national average; 651 millimetres (26 in) was recorded at Boulmer, compared to 838 millimetres (33 in) for the whole of England. This led to the foundation of the Blyth Shipbuilding Company on 2 March 1883, building cargo liners, tramp steamers and colliers. Owned by Mollers (Hong Kong) Ltd post WW2, it then built cargo liners for Moller's subsidiary the Lancashire Shipping Company. The construction yard closed in 1967, with only repair work and ship dismantling sustaining business until the yards were demolished in the late 1980s to make room for a paper and timber storage area. A2B, a Dutch container company, operate twice weekly shipping services to the Netherlands in partnership with Transped connecting the port to Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

With the running down of the coal mining and shipbuilding industries, Blyth largely exists today as a dormitory town in the commuter belt serving Newcastle and North Tyneside. However, its port still remains a major industry in the area, handling over 1.5 million tonnes of cargo annually. Its main trades are forest products, such as paper, pulp and timber, unitised cargo (containers and RoRo), and the import of materials used in the production of aluminium. It also handles the import of a variety of stones and metals. A twice weekly container service between the port and Moerdijk, near Rotterdam, provides connections with the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and France as well as South America and the Far East. The port is operated by Port of Blyth, which is the operating division of Blyth Harbour Commission.

Several renewable energy projects have been established in Blyth. In 1992, Blyth Harbour Wind Farm was constructed along Blyth's East Pier. Consisting of nine wind turbines and with a maximum capacity of 2.7 megawatts, it can provide enough electricity for over 1,500 homes. It was joined in December 2000 by Blyth Offshore Wind Farm, which was composed of two turbines situated 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) out to sea. These was the UK's first two offshore wind turbines. At 2 megawatts each, they were also, when installed, the largest in the world. The wind farm was decommissioned in 2019 by plant owner E. ON. E. ON also commissioned 5 new wind turbines in 2017. These turbines produce 8.3 megawatts of power each, for a combined total of 41.5 megawatts, powering 36,000 homes. The National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) is one of five centres of excellence set up by the North East's regional development agency, One NorthEast. It was established in 2002 and is based at Eddie Ferguson House, by the Quayside. Its purpose is to develop and test new energy technologies and equipment that will assist in the transition to a low carbon economy.

On 11 May 2007, proposals for a £2 billion clean coal power station were announced by energy supplier RWE npower. If the plans go ahead, it is estimated that 1,500 jobs will be created for the construction, with another 200 full time staff required for the running of the plant, which would open in 2014 on the site of the old power station. The development would see the installation of three 800 megawatt coal fired units, which would generate enough energy to supply around 3.5 million homes. These plans have, however, met some opposition; many residents living in the area feel that the land should be redeveloped for other purposes, rather than continue to be used as an industrial site. The MP for Wansbeck, Denis Murphy, stated that, although the project would have benefits for the area, he still had concerns; In July 2021, plans for the £2.6bn gigafactory employing 3,000 people were approved, with the new plant to be located on former coalyards adjacent to the now demolished power station in Cambois, near Blyth. It was to produce lithium ion batteries for the automotive industry. Britishvolt appointed ISG as its construction partner who began work on clearing the site in late 2021. In January 2022, the UK government invested £100m in the Britishvolt project, alongside asset management company abrdn and its property investment arm Tritax, developing what was planned to be Britain's fourth largest building. However, construction work was halted in August 2022 amid funding concerns, with manufacturing delayed until mid 2025, more than a year later than initially planned. In January 2023, Britishvolt went into administration, and its factory site was put up for sale. In February, Australian firm Recharge Industries announced it had bought Britishvolt out of administration. The takeover related to Britishvolt's battery technology not the site, and in March, Northumberland County Council extended a buy back clause on the Blyth site, giving Britishvolt's new owners more time to build the gigafactory. However, the negotiations dragged on into the summer of 2023, amid continued uncertainty surrounding the deal and the finances of Recharge's parent, Scale Facilitation. In April 2024, the site was acquired for construction of a data centre, ending hopes for thousands of manufacturing jobs in the region.

Commercial developments in the town centre have also helped to revitalise Blyth. Opened in 1991, the Keel Row Shopping Centre has brought many large high street retailers to the town. Several streets and many derelict buildings, including the old council offices, were cleared away to make way for the development. Adjacent, is the thrice weekly market which is held on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. On 14 March 2009, the market was officially reopened following a £3 million refurbishment, which involved the installation of new paving, seating, lighting, and a water feature. The centrepiece is an artwork by Simon Watkinson, named Hyperscope; the stainless steel column incorporates lighting effects and represents the town's coal mining heritage and history as a wartime submarine base. The aim of the refurbishment is to attract people to the market area when the market is closed, and to bring further investment to the town. However, the project has received criticism; following approval of the proposals in June 2007, concern was raised by Councillor Alisdair Gibbs Barton, who said that the market place was beginning to resemble a park, and that more trade should be being encouraged. Following the reopening there were also claims that new stalls provided to market traders are unable to withstand adverse weather conditions, and that traders were being overcharged for stall space.

Like the rest of Northumberland, Blyth has a two tier school system consisting of first and high schools. The town currently has nine first schools and one high school (The Blyth Academy). Until 2009 it also had five middle schools, but these schools were closed as Northumberland County Council decided to switch to a two tier system of primary and secondary schools. The Blyth Academy is one of three high schools in Blyth Valley. Opened on 1 September 2000 as Blyth Community College following the amalgamation of Ridley (formerly Newlands) and Tynedale high schools and built on the site of the latter, it is designed to accommodate 1,450 pupils and also serves as a centre for lifelong learning classes. In the town centre is Northumberland College's Blyth centre, as well as the public library, which holds a large collection of local studies resources. As part of a "poverty proofing" initiative, St Wilfrid's Primary School banned pencil cases in 2018, as part of a charity initiative to avoid poorer pupils being viewed negatively for lacking designer goods. Bede Academy, a school for children aged 3 to 18 sponsored by Sir Peter Vardy through the Emmanuel Schools Foundation, opened in September 2009. Bede Academy is built on the former grounds of Ridley High School (formerly Newlands). The Dales School is a special needs school. In July 2021, it received a Class 144 train. In April 2019, Blyth won a government bid to establish a 80 place special school for children with specific learning difficulties. The proposed site is the former Princess Louise First School. In October, Blyth was awarded government funding to establish mental health support teams in schools. The scheme, which requires the county's mental health services to see children within four weeks of referral, is planned to be rolled out by December 2020.

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North East and Cumbria and ITV Tyne Tees. Television signals are received from either the Pontop Pike or Chatton TV transmitters. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Newcastle, Capital North East, Heart North East, Smooth North East, Greatest Hits Radio North East, Metro Radio and Koast Radio, a community based radio station which broadcast on 106.6 FM. The town is served by the local newspapers, Northumberland Gazette (formerly The News Post Leader) and Evening Chronicle.

Since 2014, Blyth Town Council has organised the Northumberland Live Festival every year in June on a meadow right next to the North Sea beach. It offers numerous attractions such as music performances, fairground rides and children's entertainment. In addition to local bands and bands from the twintown of Solingen, nationally renowned bands such as The Christians, The Pigeon Detectives, Toploader, Doctor & the Medics, Scouting for Girls have also performed here. Audience numbers have been as high as 18,000. The Blyth Town Christmas Fayre is also held in the market place and features a similar range of family entertainment. Close to the town centre is an intimate, 299 seat theatre called the Phoenix Theatre. It presents a regular programme of professional performing arts to the local community and has successfully brought amateur and professional practitioners alongside each other to develop work for the community. There were once four cinemas in Blyth, but the last of these, the Wallaw, closed in 2004. The others — The Central, The Essoldo, and The Roxy — all closed in the 1960s and 1970s.

The town is home to the non League football club, Blyth Spartans. Founded in 1899, and play their home games at Croft Park. They are notable for their "giant killing" feats in the FA Cup, particularly those of the 1977–78 season, when they reached the fifth round. The town's other non League football club is Blyth Town, who were established in 1995 and play in the Wade Associates Northern Alliance Premier Division. Also based in Blyth are Blyth Cricket Club and Blyth RFC. Blyth Cricket Club was formed in 1883 and presently compete in the Northumberland & Tyneside Cricket League Division 3. Blyth Cricket Club were Northumberland & Tyneside Cricket League Division 4 champions in the 2020 season and Northumberland Premier League champions in 2017. Blyth Sports Centre offers a wide range of facilities including two swimming pools, a sports hall, squash courts, fitness suite, saunas, outdoor skate park, and more. Blyth Golf Club is situated on the outskirts of the town at New Delaval, and has an 18 hole course with a par of 72. Royal Northumberland Yacht Club has its headquarters in the South Harbour. RNYC offers crewing and sailing opportunities and is a Royal Yachting Association Training Centre for sail cruising and powerboating for its members.

Ridley Park was created on land handed over by Viscount Matthew White Ridley and was opened on 27 July 1904. In June 2005, a £602,000 regeneration project was completed, which saw the installation of a children's water play area and upgrading of existing play facilities at the southern end of the park. The Quayside is a stretch of the riverfront that was once a centre of Blyth's industry, where coal would be loaded from trains onto ships for export, but having undergone major redevelopment, it is now a clean and peaceful area. Notable features of the Quayside include the "Spirit of the Staithes" sculpture and eleven "solar sound posts" which, when approached, replay pre recorded stories relating to the port told by local people. Blyth's largest and most natural open space is its beach and sand dunes, which stretch from the mouth of the river to Seaton Sluice. The dunes were declared a Local Nature Reserve by Blyth Valley Borough Council in December 2003, and are also an area of Special Nature Conservation Interest. They are notable for their diverse range of plant life, butterflies, moths, and birds, as well as being one of only two coastal locations in the country inhabited by both species of banded land snail—Cepaea nemoralis and Cepaea hortensis.

The "Spirit of the Staithes" sculpture on Blyth's Quayside was unveiled by Princess Anne on 28 May 2003. As part of the overall regeneration of the Quayside, it was commissioned by Blyth Valley Council in conjunction with Northern Arts and created by the artist Simon Packard. Standing 15 metres (50 ft) high and 7 metres (22 ft) wide, it represents the heritage of coal distribution in Europe, an industry in which Blyth was the largest exporter. The "High Light" lighthouse is one of Blyth's oldest structures. It stands to the rear of Bath Terrace and is tall. Built in three stages, the first section was constructed in 1788 to a height of ; a further was added in 1888, and the final was added in 1900. The original oil fired lamp had a range of ; it was upgraded to gas in 1857 and electricity in 1932. Prior to land reclamation in the late 19th century, the lighthouse had been much closer to the quayside. At some stage it became the rear of a pair of leading lights, and known as the 'High Light'; the corresponding 'low light' has long since been demolished. Blyth High Light was deactivated in 1985 and listed Grade II on 15 July 1987. Before their demolition, the four chimneys of Blyth Power Station dominated the landscape along the coast. Two were high, the other two were high, and they were visible for many miles. On the north side of the River Blyth are the remains of the railway coal staithes which featured in the chase scene at the end of the 1971 film Get Carter, starring Michael Caine.