Chuter Ede Community Centre site earmarked for specialist care scheme

Designs are being worked on to develop a specialist extra care scheme, with modern communtiy facilities, on the Chuter Ede Community Centre site, on Galsworthy Road.

The site of the former school and community assocation is proposed to house a new extra care development of around 120 one and two-bed apartments.

It is expected that 20 of the apartments would be specifically for people living with memory impairments, such as dementia.

The development will be for anyone over the age of 18 with a care and support need, with a 24/7 on site care team available.

Along with the apartments, the development will incorporate a café and multi-use spaces for activities that will be open and accessible to the general public.

Cllr Joanne Bell, Lead Member for Governance, Finance and Corporate Services at South Tyneside Council, has welcomed the upcoming development of the site.

She said: “We’ve been clear that the Council’s long-term plans for the site have been for housing, and it provides a fantastic opportunity to develop Extra Care accommodation for adults with care needs.

“We also recognise the need for modern facilities for local people to use, and it is fantastic that these can be integrated into the development.

“It’s a really exciting concept for the site; integrating specialist housing into the wider community and supporting people to live independently.

“I’m glad that the Council has managed to support those groups who previously occupied the Community Association, following the Community Interest Organisation’s decision to close earlier in the year.

“We now turn our attention to clearing the site for development over the coming months.

“Chuter Ede would be the first site of its kind in South Tyneside to bring together extra care housing, community facilities and playing pitches provision all in one place.”

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According to the proposals, the site will be developed and managed by Karbon Homes, as part of a partnership to bring much needed accommodation for adults with care needs to South Tyneside.

Zoey Hawthorne, Assistant Director of Development Delivery at Karbon Homes, said: “We’re proud to be working with South Tyneside Council to deliver much-needed, specialist, affordable accommodation options for the borough and are working closely with them to design three extra care schemes that meet the wants and needs of local people.

“Our vision for the new schemes is to create strong and sustainable places that help empower people with additional care and support needs to live life to the full.

“We’re also committed to ensuring community is at the heart of all three schemes, incorporating social spaces into the design, as well as a bistro cafe and multi-use spaces for activities, all of which will be open to the general public to help bring the community together.”

The Chuter Ede Community Association will close on September 3, with planning permission already granted for the demolition of the old and inefficient building.

Following the closure annoucement earlier this year, a petition was signed by thousands of people in an effort to urge South Tyneside Council to keep the site open.

The South Shields MP, Emma Lewell-Buck, expressed her surprise at the decision to close the site and even brought up the issue in the House of Commons.

South Tyneside Council has confirmed that a planning application for the extra care scheme is likely to be submitted early next year.

If the plans are approved, work is expected to start at the back end of 2024 and is predicted to take around 24 months to complete.

The remainder of the site, where the former school building currently stands, is earmarked for private housing development.

The local authority has also revealed its intention to retain and improve the quality of the existing playing pitches on the wider site, outside of the extra care development footprint.