Decision made on plan for Cheviot Road's old Bowey newsagents to be swallowed by building next door
Plans to convert a vacant former newsagents site into part of a family home have been given the green light by council development bosses.
South Tyneside Council’s planning department has approved an application for 128 Cheviot Road in the Horsley Hill ward in South Shields.
The site was well known as the G.S and B.Bowey newsagents for many years but according to a planning application submitted to council officials, the site’s retail use ended more than a year ago.
New plans for the building submitted earlier this year (2025) aimed to change the use of the retail unit to form part of the neighbouring property 126 Cheviot Road, merging the two sites into one residential unit.
Plans included the change of use of open space adjacent to the retail unit to form a garden with the erection of a garden wall and “re rendering” the former retail building, along with the addition of two new rooflights.
Council planning documents note the two buildings at Cheviot Road would be connected via a “new internal link doorway”, while proposed floor plans for the single-storey retail unit showed the building divided into living and utility spaces.
During a council public consultation exercise on the plans, it was noted that one letter of support had been received.
After considering the planning application and assessing it against planning policies, South Tyneside Council’s planning department approved it on August 28, 2025.
Council planners, in a decision report, said the proposal would “form additional living accommodation” for 126 Cheviot Road and was “acceptable in principle”.
It was noted that the proposed change of use “would not result in the loss of an important retail function as there are various other commercial units within close proximity and walking distance to the site on Highfield Road to serve local need”.
The council decision report added: “The external appearance of the building would remain largely unchanged save for minor fenestration alterations ensuring the building would remain in keeping with the surroundingarea, and removal of signage that would no longer be needed.
“There would be no other external extensions to the host property as a result of the change of use therefore the occupiers of neighbouring dwellings would not suffer any overbearing, overshadowing, or loss of privacy as a result of the development.
“It is considered that the occupiers of adjacent properties would not suffer any loss of amenity or traffic generation as the property would form an extension to an existing residential unit.”
Council planners also noted there could be “stopping up implications” linked to the development “as the proposed wall enclosure would enclose land which currently has the appearance of part of the public realm, and where it can be walked over without hinderance”.
An “informative” was added to the planning permission in relation to applicants obtaining a “stopping up” order for the relevant area of highway (footway) near the site, a “separate legal process” to planning permission.
Council planners also noted that the “provision of a 1200mm high wall and railing boundary treatment would not appear alien within the wider street scene.”
Under planning conditions, the development must be brought forward within three years.
For more information on the plan and council decision, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 250393