I could be wrong, but in my own research around South Shields I understood "Westoe Village" to refer to the area around the original village centre which existed prior to urban sprawl, rather than a specific street. This is primarily from the context of use where you'd expect the name of a parish/village to be given rather than the street name.
I'd assumed that the street now known as "Westoe Village" was in effect the historic main street in the village, and at some point in time was named that as the original name (if there was one) was no longer relevant. I know of some other examples where the street name and development pattern over time follows the same concepts.
Therefore it is possible that the references you are seeing to "Westoe Village" might be in the wider area rather than specifically this street?
Given the historic nature of the street I would expect the 'original' buildings would have been replaced multiple times over the years as they became derelict or no longer needed. Therefore rather than clearance of slums, it may be more a case of 1890's replacement of existing buildings as the nature of the street changed and the older buildings decayed... much the same as any other high street over time.
However I'd also be interested if anyone has any definite answers....
