'Can't believe' - Planning decision slammed as South Tyneside livery yard closure looms after king plea
Friends of a South Tyneside livery yard who made a plea to the king to save their land from development have slammed planners.
Horse riders and owners have slammed a planning inspector who has ridden roughshod over their hopes of saving their South Tyneside livery yard from closure.
They say they are angered and dismayed their concerns about the loss of equestrian fields at West Fellgate Farm at Fellgate, Jarrow, were dismissed out of hand.
Site users fear they must quickly find new homes for 52 animals after David Spencer gave “negligible weight” to their worries – and they believe time is not on their side.
He did so in his recently published report into the future of over 200 hectares of Green Belt at Fellgate and other proposed land developments in the borough.
They form part of South Tyneside Council’s Local Plan, its blueprint for housing and regeneration to the year 2040.
Mr Spencer gave his conditional backing to the Local Plan in his report, published in late June, which followed a public inquiry he led on.
He acknowledged concerns about the future of the equestrian facilities but contended it is a privately-run operation, with limited public access, and not of prime importance.
‘Negligible weight to harm’
And he then added: “Their loss would be, to some extent, offset by genuinely accessible public open space, including in areas close to existing houses.
“Overall, I give negligible weight to the harm arising from the loss of the horse fields in terms of tangential mental health well-being impacts.”
‘Can’t believe’
His comments were slammed on behalf of site users by mum Natalie Milner, 46, whose horse-riding daughter Scarlett, 12, wrote to King Charles to ask him to intervene to block the house building plans.
The self-employed eyelash technician said: “I think I speak on everyone’s behalf when I say we are all absolutely devastated about it all.
“I genuinely can’t believe how dismissive he was of the livery yard, saying it’s just a business.
“I think our main worry is no one has any idea of how fast things will move - do we have a month, six months, a year or two years? We are praying we have at least a year.
“One thing we were all disappointed with was how he just labelled the livery yard as a private business. It’s not just a business.
“Scarlett actually said the other evening driving to the yard that owning a horse is not a hobby, it’s a way of life, it’s committing to taking care of that horse.
“The life lessons Scarlett has learned over the last three years can never be taught in a classroom - responsibility, determination, discipline, grit, resilience and most importantly that you have to work hard.
“I guess you could argue that she could still learn these lessons on another livery yard but tell me where locally has space and similar facilities?”
Under the Local Plan, 309 new homes are planned to be built each year in the borough.
Mr Spencer has insisted several modifications must first be enacted before the plan is considered for adoption, which could happen at a full council meeting on Thursday, July 30.
South Tyneside Council has said Mr Spencer’s findings represent ‘a major step forward’ and that he had found the Local Plan ‘provides a suitable framework for guiding future development’.