Decision made on seafront dog wash station in South Shields as business looks to expand

South Tyneside Council’s planning department has approved an application for a small building which sits next to green space adjacent to a coastal car park and Minchella & Co.

Plans submitted earlier this year (2025) sought permission to install a “self-service dog wash facility” with service connections to a building described in planning documents as a “former public convenience autoloo.”

Design images showed the proposed plans are linked to NE Dog Wash, which already operates from several locations across the North East providing dog wash stations with cycles including shampoo, rinse, conditioner, ‘further rinse’ and warm blow dry.

According to the NE Dog Wash website, the stations also have a quick ‘disinfect’ mode which is used to prepare the station for the next user and ensure the units are kept as clean as possible.

South Tyneside Council previously approved plans for a similar development near public toilets at the Harbour Drive South Car Park in South Shields back in 2023.

Supporting documents submitted with plans for a new site at Sea Road, South Shields, said existing sites in the region have been “well received” and that the new South Shields facility would have several benefits.

This included “providing a valuable and updated asset for local residents and those from surrounding areas”, encouraging more and longer visits to the coast and “raising the status of adjacent attractions and facilities.”

After considering the planning application, South Tyneside Council’s planning department approved it on September 1, 2025.

During a council public consultation exercise on the plans, there were no objections lodged with the local authority.

Council planners, in a decision report, said the proposed dog wash facility was “relatively modest in terms of its scale and appearance” and “would be largely viewed from the public domain against the backdrop of the public toilets building”.

In addition, there were no concerns raised about impacts on nearby heritage assets, including the Herd Groyne, South Pier or Trow Point Gun Platform, and council planners said there were no “adverse impacts” expected linked to drainage.

Council planners also said the existing parking facilities near the site “could accommodate any possible parking demands of the proposal”.

Although it was noted there could be some “recreational related effects, by dog walkers and their dogs” on European Designated [ecology] Sites, it was noted a mitigation scheme would be put in place.

This includes the council’s wider mitigation strategy and an “information point”, agreed with Natural England, “in the interests of biodiversity / ecology.”

Those behind the self-service dog wash scheme said the facilities had initially been aimed at beach areas “where utilities and parking are available”, but noted there were ambitions to expand to more country parks in future.

A planning statement from applicants added the proposals in South Shields “do not involve any physical changes, or recognised intensification of the use of the building” and said “the siting of this non-fixed, and readily movable dog wash facility will still preserve the significance of the area.”

For more information on the plan and council decision, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search planning application reference number: 250211

To find out more about NE Dog Wash, visit: www.nedogwash.co.uk