Blyth
Blyth Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast,
to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately
21 kilometres (13 mi) northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne.
It is the administrative centre of the borough of Blyth
Valley and has a population of about 36,000.[1] The
port of Blyth dates from the 12th century, but the development
of the modern town only began in the first quarter of
the 18th century. The main industries which helped the
town prosper were coal mining and shipbuilding, with
the salt trade, fishing and the railways also playing
an important role. These industries have largely vanished,
but the port still thrives, shipping paper and pulp
from Scandinavia for the newspaper industries of England
and Scotland.[2] The town was seriously affected when
its principal industries went into decline, and it has
undergone much regeneration since the early 1990s. The
Keel Row Shopping Centre, opened in 1991, brought major
high street retailers to Blyth, and helped to revitalise
the town centre. The market place is currently being
redeveloped, with the aim of attracting further investment
to the town. The Quayside has also seen much redevelopment
and has been transformed into a peaceful open space,
the centrepiece of which is a sculpture commemorating
the industry which once thrived there. On the opposite
side of the river are the nine wind turbines of the
Blyth Harbour Wind Farm which were constructed along
the East Pier in 1992. They were joined in 2000 by Blyth
Offshore Wind Farm, which is composed of two turbines
situated 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) out to sea.
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