A decision is set to be made on the future of a former South Shields pub.

Plans to transform a long-vacant South Shields coastal pub site into new homes will be decided by councillors next week.

South Tyneside Council’s planning committee will vote on plans to change the use of the Water’s Edge pub site at Trow Lea to make way for three dwellings, plus a detached bungalow.

Plans for the pub building, which sits adjacent to a council car park, would deliver three, three-bedroom homes, with two dwellings on the pub’s ground floor and one dwelling on the first floor.

The scheme includes a first floor extension and alterations to the pub’s doors and windows, as well as a new build two-bedroom bungalow proposed on a garden area of the site.

A decision on the future of The Water's Edge is set to be made on Tuesday, October 20. | Local Democracy Reporting Service

placeholder image — A decision on the future of The Water's Edge is set to be made on Tuesday, October 20. | Local Democracy Reporting Service

‘Fallen into a state of disrepair’

Previous plans to bulldoze the pub and build an apartment block were rejected by the council’s planning committee back in 2018 after the plans sparked hundreds of public objections.

The refused plans later went to appeal, and following a formal hearing at South Shields Town Hall, a Government-appointed planning inspector dismissed the appeal.

In recent months, the pub site was put up for auction and was described as “easily accessible and in such a picturesque and peaceful location”.

A planning application to transform the site into homes, first submitted back in 2023, is finally being presented to councillors for decision.

South Tyneside Council will consider approving plans for three dwellings, plus a detached bungalow at the former pub site. | Local Democracy Reporting Service

During a council consultation there were around 25 representations submitted raising concerns about the loss of the public house, loss of privacy for beach users, increased lighting, parking pressures, negative impacts on the landscape and more.

Council planners, recommending the planning application for approval, said the site has “fallen into a state of disrepair” and argued that new plans would “result in a wider visual improvement to this important area of the coast”.

A council committee report also said that there were “no adverse impacts arising that would substantially outweigh the benefits of the development”.

The listed benefits include “social and economic gains” from the development contributing towards reducing South Tyneside’s housing supply shortfall.

Officers added the plans were acceptable in terms of design, layout and visual impacts, highway safety, coastal erosion, ecology matters, heritage impacts and drainage and flood risk, subject to planning conditions and legal agreements.

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The once popular pub at the South Shields seafront has stood empty for many years. | Local Democracy Reporting Service

Decision day looms

Councillors will discuss the plans at a meeting of the planning committee on Tuesday, October 20, at South Shields Town Hall.

The meeting starts at 10am and will be open to the public.

For more information, visit the council’s planning portal website and search for reference ST/0613/23/FUL.

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