Concerns raised over loss of '37 football pitches worth of playing fields' in South Tyneside as part of council's local development plan

The firm behind a potential £700million development has warned of the loss of 26 hectares of open spaces and playing fields if the Local Plan for the borough goes ahead.

It comes after Sport England submitted objections to plans for a number of sites including 272 houses on the former Brinkburn school site, and 280 on Chuter Ede.

In total 984 houses are proposed on seven existing playing fields, covering more than 26 hectares - the equivalent of around 37 football pitches.

Laverick Hall Farm Ltd, which has submitted controversial plans for an ambitious £692million garden village says the proposal at Laverick Park, south of Fellgate would avoid the destruction of these playing fields.

The Laverick Park Garden Community development includes 3,000 new homes, three new primary schools, a 60 bed care home and other community facilities to be built over a 20 year period.

However those plans themselves have been met with opposition.

Residents’ petition launched

A petition objecting to the development after proposals were revealed last year gathered hundreds of signatures from Fellgate residents.

Edward Yuill, Managing Director of Cecil M Yuill Ltd, a partner in Laverick Hall Farm Ltd, said: “I expect the news that the Draft Local Plan proposes the loss of over 26 hectares of playing fields for almost 1,000 homes will understandably be met with dismay and anger by the local sports clubs, teams and community members who use these facilities.

“It’s particularly puzzling as there seems to be no plan in place on how and where these may be re-provided. Sport England has quite correctly raised its objection to the Plan.”

He continued: “This is a serious matter because at present a significant proportion of the Draft Local Plan’s housing allocations are simply not deliverable. These are fundamental matters of soundness for the Plan.

“We have formally provided our own response to the Draft Local Plan, which highlighted the same objections now raised by Sport England, and will be watching this matter closely.

“In addition to building housing on playing fields, the Council’s Draft Local Plan also proposes draft housing allocations on sites currently used as open space, some of which the Council’s own Open Space Assessment categorised as ‘high value’. There is no strategy in place on how this open space may be re-provided.”

Mr Yuill added: “Our proposal at Laverick Park alleviates the need for such destruction of playing fields, indeed we are proposing over 85 hectares of green infrastructure and five hectares of new playing fields.”

What the council says

South Tyneside Council said it is working with Sport England and the relevant bodies on a solution to the loss of playing fields.

A spokesperson said: “We have a statutory obligation to meet our future housing and employment needs that means we have had to look at all options to accommodate development in our draft local plan.

“We have reviewed all of the potential land supply options in order to minimise the further loss of Green Belt land to development. In our draft Local Plan that we consulted upon last year, we have proposed a number of playing fields and open spaces.

“We have been in regular contact with Sport England through the preparation of both our Local Plan and the supporting evidence and we are aware of their concerns.

“We are currently working with both Sport England and the relevant sporting governing bodies to develop a strategy that will identify deliverable solutions to re-provide for the loss of playing fields that will respond to Sport England’s objections.”

The council is currently considering all responses before the Publication Draft is published later this year.

They added: “No final decisions have been made and the feedback received during the consultation period will be used to shape the formal Publication Draft, which we will consult on later this year.

“It should also be noted that the Draft Plan contains a wider range of policies which any planning application would need to comply with before a planning permission is granted. These include the protection and enhancement of green infrastructure; ensuring that new developments provide new open spaces and re-providing for any open spaces lost.

“Ultimately, the plan will be submitted to the Secretary of State for a Public Examination before an independent Planning Inspector.”

Sport England said they do not comment on individual cases but it is standard practice for them to object to planning applications where there is no provision to replace green space.