the Metro tunnel underneath. It was the first building to use PTFE to reduce weight drag on horizontal restraints. The library was refurbished in 2013, with the lecture hall redeveloped for additional book storage and computer workstation capacity. Governance Since April 1974, North Shields has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside, formerly having been part of the County Borough of Tynemouth, which was based at Tynemouth Town Hall, in Howard Street, North Shields. Parts of the town are within the Tynemouth and North Tyneside parliamentary constituencies. North Shields County Court and North Tyneside Magistrates' Court are also in the town. The county court houses the Employment Tribunals Office. Culture Art Fiddler's Green, a steel sculpture that serves as a memorial to fishermen lost at sea, was unveiled in 2017. A number of pieces were installed as part of the Royal Quays development. Located in Chirton Dene, Redburn Dene, by the marina, and near the shopping outlet, they include works by Richard Broderick, Graham Robinson, Linda France, Alec Peever, Gilly Rogers, Mark di Suvero, Perminder Kaur and Andy Plant. In film Dream On (1991) was produced by Amber Films and filmed on location in Meadow Well. Its original release was around the time of the Meadow Well riots. On television The BBC series When the Boat Comes In, though set in the fictional Gallowshield, was essentially set in North Shields and filmed on location around the town. Various episodes of the series Spender, which starred Jimmy Nail, and Vera, with Brenda Blethyn, were also filmed there. In songs Sweden's foremost troubadour of the 20th century, Evert Taube, wrote the song "Mary Strand", which is set in North Shields in 1909. Mary Strand is the proprietress of the cigar shop Tiger Brand on Dock Street and hides a young sailor from the police. The song is based on Taube's own experience, when he ran away from the steamship Australic in Newcastle upon Tyne. Twin town In 2017, the town was twinned with Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales, as part of the Carnegie Twin Towns Project. The project aimed to pair towns that had similar characteristics, and socio-economic challenges, in order to consider how they might make positive changes to their communities. Notable people Prominent locals include Ralph Gardner, who opposed Newcastle when it attempted to prevent the docking of coal ships in North Shields. Gardner was imprisoned in 1653 for