'˜Dying' Jarrow social club could be knocked down to make way for 23 new homes

A well-known social club could be demolished to make way for 23 new homes following an application by a leisure company.
The Neon Social Club. Picture by Frank ReidThe Neon Social Club. Picture by Frank Reid
The Neon Social Club. Picture by Frank Reid

South Tyneside Council has verified an application to build 17 homes and six apartments on the site of the Neon Social Club in Nairn Street, Jarrow.

The venue has been a hub of community life on the Scotch Estate for more than 45 years, and re-opened in 2017 under a new landlord.

Tony SinghTony Singh
Tony Singh
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Premier Leisure – which owns the Neon and nearby Red Hackle pub – wants to build six two-bedroom flats, 11 two-bed houses and six three-bed houses.

The proposals could see new homes built on the site of the club and Red Hackle pub car park, and include vehicle access onto Nairn Street and a dedicated access via the St John the Baptist Church car park.

Premier Leisure owns several venues in South Tyneside – including Armstrong Hall and Hedworth Hall – and bought the Neon eight years ago.

Company director Tony Singh said some social clubs are “dying” in South Tyneside and “not a lot of people come to the club”.

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“It’s not like the old days and not a lot of people come. There has been a drop in footfall generally,” he said.

Mr Singh added that the planned development, if approved, would take years to complete and that customers would still have the Red Hackle pub available.

A design statement by planning agent, Wearmouth Architectural Design, said the Neon site has easy access to schools, shops and the Perth Avenue Community Centre.

It states each house will benefit from a private driveway and rear garden space with additional visitor parking spaces included in the plans.

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While homes will be “in line with surrounding current market values” and are not expected to be retained for rental, if a private purchaser wishes to “buy to let” this would be considered “perfectly acceptable”, the report states.

It adds:“Based upon local authority provided information, it is considered there are more than sufficient low cost homes available within the area by both government-backed and private landlords.”

An assessment by Northburn Acoustics revealed no objections to the housing plans despite potential noise caused by traffic and the nearby church and pub.

The application is expected to be discussed by South Tyneside Council’s planning committee in future following consultation with  neighbours, the wider public and relevant companies.

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This includes council highways and environment officers, Northern Powergrid, Natural England, Northumbrian Water and more.

You can have your say on the application by commenting on South Tyneside Council’s planning portal before May 25.

For more information, visit: planning.southtyneside.info/Northgate/PlanningExplorer/NewApplicationsSearch.aspx

Chris Binding, Local Democracy Reporting Service