income of residents is only £18,000 per annum; this compares to a Gateshead average of £27,000 and is the lowest figure in the borough. Geography and topography Felling, at latitude 54.950° N and longitude 1.564° W, lies less than south and east of Gateshead town centre on a bed of carboniferous sandstone and clay, interspersed with coal measures laid down around 300 million years. It is split bilaterally by the Felling By-Pass to the north and by Sunderland Road more centrally. The distance from Felling to London is . The urban expansion of Gateshead makes exact overall boundaries difficult to define. Although administratively considered one area, official documentation has split Felling into three distinct neighbourhoods: North, Central and High Felling. Felling North is roughly comparable to the old settlement at Felling Shore, bounded to the north by the River Tyne and the south by Sunderland Road. The other neighbourhoods also broadly follow their historical boundaries; the central area includes Felling town centre and the surrounding streets, while High Felling incorporates Coldwell Lane and the adjoining streets moving south towards Windy Nook. Felling lies on land which is steep at the riverbank but which initially flattens at the north then begins to climb, with some slope south to north centrally before consistently sloping, at times steeply, in High Felling. At the south-west corner, the land reaches a maximum height of around above sea-level. Felling is now largely bordered by settlements which are part of the metropolitan borough. These are Windy Nook to the south, Deckham and the town of Gateshead to the west and Heworth and the Leam Lane Estate to the east. To the extreme north, Felling is bounded by the River Tyne, the largest river in the North East of England. This affords very good views into Newcastle upon Tyne. Land use is mixed. The land to the extreme north adjacent to the river is mostly industrial, split by the Felling By-Pass. The land south of the By-Pass towards the town centre is predominantly residential and includes the Nest, Brandling, Stoneygate and the Old Fold estates. Centrally the land is mixed between residential properties and the largely commercial use at Crowhall Lane and Victoria Square. At High Felling, land use is predominantly residential but there is around 25% green-space, including a park, cricket ground and urban open space to the south at Albion Street. Governance In 1843, High Felling,