dunno:
Not quite like Geula.
Firstly, Geula is a small part of Yerushalayim. Shoppers there don’t know each other and will probably never meet again. In Gateshead, the main street is all there is and the students *will* be meeting often and getting to know each other.
Secondly, in Geula you have a relatively small number of students within a crowd of adults. In Gateshead, bein hasedarim, the shoppers are probably 90% students.
Also, Tvideer mentioned shidduchim 30 years ago. That wouldn’t happen today, both due to the change in times and in the huge increase in number of students. You’d get flirting today, not shidduchim.