Fire-damaged South Tyneside church set to be transformed as café plan gets green light

Plans to revive a fire-damaged former church as a new café and community hub have been given the green light.

South Tyneside Council’s planning department has approved an application for the former Park Methodist Church, in Bede Burn Road, Jarrow.

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The site was most recently used as an auction house but has been vacant since a fire caused extensive damage in November, 2017, causing the roof to collapse.

Previous proposals included bulldozing the site to make way for apartments, with the scheme sparking a campaign to preserve the historic building, which was originally built in 1885.

It has since been reported that the site has been bought by a family who intend to restore the building and bring it back into community use once again.

A planning application submitted earlier this year set out plans to “rebuild” the former church for “use as a café”, along with works to construct a detached building to the east and to erect a fence and gates to the north and east boundaries.

Those behind the scheme said the café and bistro would “provide a choice of foods and drinks including alcohol and the premises will be heavily promoting healthy eating, drinking and socialising offering a good range of NO Alcohol alternatives and home cooked tasty foods”.

Applicants added this would be “combined with the community ethos allowing local groups to use the community space provided and promote new groups to start up for the benefit of the surrounding area”.

It was noted that the building still retains many of its historical features and that the design approach to restore the building had been "led through an understanding of the setting of the building and its heritage importance to the area."

During a council public consultation exercise there were 32 representations in support noting the scheme's benefits around positive community impacts, job creation and visual improvements to the church.

South Tyneside Council's planning department deemed the scheme acceptable and officially approved it on June 22, 2026.

Council planners, in a decision report, said the plans would "rebuild the former church as a replica of the now burned down building".

It was noted that the "benefits that the development would bring to Jarrow and the wider borough significantly outweigh any potential for harm to the vitality of the town centre".

The council decision report adds: "It is considered that the proposal would result in no significant harm in terms of residential amenity, visual amenity, highway safety, biodiversity, and the impact on the heritage asset."

Under planning conditions, the development must be brought forward within three years.

For more information, visit the council’s planning portal website and search for reference 260085.

However, the apartment block plans and associated demolition never went ahead and the site was put up for sale in 2024.

A planning, heritage and design and access statement submitted to council officials said plans aimed to save the former church building so “the heritage asset can be enjoyed for many years to come”.

This included setting up a “bistro/bar/restaurant with community space which is hoped to be funded by the profits of the business”, along with an “external container" positioned to the front of the site which will be "available to rent by local small business, community groups or used by the business”.