Geography

Geography

Our South Tyneside Data Observatory provides data at the geographical levels for which it is published, therefore not all data will be available at all levels. The geographies you will find on Our South Tyneside Data Observatory are:

    • Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA)
    • Wards
    • Local Authorities (LA)
    • Regional (e.g. North East)
    • National (e.g. England)
    • Community Area Forums (CAFs)
    • Built up areas

Administrative Geographies

Local Authority (LA)

The Borough of South Tyneside, along with other Tyne & Wear Boroughs, is a metropolitan borough. Since the abolition of metropolitan county councils via the Local Government Act 1985, South Tyneside Council effectively acts as a unitary authority area. This means there is a single level to our local government.

As such, the borough boundary also represents the local authority boundary, inside of which South Tyneside Council has responsibility for providing services. However, the North East Combined Authority (NECA) does hold some wider responsibilities with respect to certain services, including the Metro and other public transport.

Ward

There are 18 wards within the South Tyneside Borough. These Electoral Wards are the spatial units used to elect Borough Councillors and as such, all wards fit within the borough exactly. Find out about the makeup of South Tyneside’s wards using the Quick Ward Profile on the Homepage or create a Ward Report or a Ward Map for a Data Theme – see the How To section for video tutorials.

More information on administrative boundaries can be found on the ONS Website.

Statistical Geographies

Output Area (OA)

Output areas (OA) were created for Census data. The OA is the lowest geographical level at which census estimates are provided. They were originally designed to have a minimum of 100 residents and 40 households, with a recommended size of 125 households.

Super Output Areas (SOAs) were designed to improve the reporting of small area statistics and are built up from groups of output areas – several OAs make up a Lower Super Output Area (LSOA); OAs and LSOAs can be aggregated to make up a Middle Super Output Area (MSOA) – see Table.1.

Table.1. Population and household thresholds for 2021 census super output areas.

Geography Minimum Population Maximum Population Minimum Number of Households Maximum Number of Households
LSOA 1,000 3,000 400 1,200
MSOA 5,000 15,000 2,000 6,000

 

Our South Tyneside Data Observatory allows you to create LSOA Reports or Maps for a Data Theme – see the How To section for video tutorials.

Built Up Areas 

South Tyneside has 7 built up areas and they cover approximately 60% of the borough’s land area. This area includes our three towns (South Shields, Jarrow, and Hebburn) and 4 other built up areas (Boldon Colliery, Cleadon, East Boldon & West Boldon, and Whitburn.)

More information on census geographies can be found on the ONS Website.

Other Geographies

Community Area Forums (CAFs)

South Tyneside’s Community Area Forums are public meetings held within local areas. They provide an opportunity for residents to meet with local councillors, Council officers, and others within the community to discuss changes and local issues. For example, clean streets, anti-social behaviour and tenancy related issues.

There are 5 Community Area Forums in South Tyneside: