Wearside

Wearside /ˈwɪərsʌɪd/ is an area of North East England, centred on the continuous urban area formed by Sunderland, Seaham and other settlements by the River Wear.

The ONS definition of the area has a population around 335,415 and includes Sunderland, Whitburn, Washington, Hetton-le-Hole, Bournmoor, South Hetton, Springwell Village, Ouston, Pelton, Chester-Le-Street and Houghton-le-Spring. The local government district named the "City of Sunderland" has a lower population of 280,807.

Economy

Like other parts of the North East, Wearside and Sunderland were economically structured by Primary industry; with a great deal of the economy once dependent on ship building and coal mining with large collieries such as Monkwearmouth Colliery, which declined rapidly during the mid 20th century, many areas have long been deprived with vast areas of unemployment as a result. The city of Sunderland and parts of Wearside have been slowly rejuvenated over the years and industry is now largely based around call centres, although many areas such as Easington still face social problems today.