Green light for new 'modular classroom building' at Jarrow Hall heritage visitor attraction

South Tyneside Council’s planning department has approved an application for Jarrow Hall which is based off Church Bank in the Bede ward.

The visitor attraction includes the Grade II-listed Jarrow Hall house, which offers an exhibition space and visitor café, as well as other attractions across the wider site.

This includes a ‘living history’ Anglo-Saxon farm and village and Bede Museum, which tells the story of the scholar Bede and his time, spanning from the beginnings of the Anglo-Saxon period to his death.

Earlier this year, charity Groundwork South & North Tyneside submitted an application seeking permission for a new ‘modular room building’ at the Jarrow Hall site.

The building, including two classrooms and toilet facilities, was proposed to be used for “ancillary activities to the main museum on the site for education, learning, and cultural activities”.

This aimed to “further the objects of Groundwork as a charity, and the aims of the site as a whole” around public engagement.

It was noted that the building would replace an existing modular building on the same site but would have a “larger footprint”, requiring a pathway to be re-routed.

A planning statement submitted to council officials noted the existing modular building had been on the site since 1995 but was now “derelict”.

Those behind the scheme said the replacement building would “create much needed additional space to support our work with local SEN young people linked to our museum and ancillary services around education, community and training”.

During a council consultation on the plans, concerns were raised about the proposed building’s proximity to the ‘blast zone’ of a storage tank at the Prax Terminals, Jarrow Terminal.

Council planners, in a response, noted that the Health and Safety Executive had been contacted and “raised no comments in respect of the submission”.

It was also argued that the building would replace an existing building on site and that there would be “no planning reason to resist the granting of planning permission”.

After considering the planning application and assessing it against planning policies, South Tyneside Council’s planning department approved it on August 16, 2023.

A council decision report said: “The proposal would be relatively minor in nature and would replace an existing modular building, and would be set amongst other utilitarian structures and be screened from public view by planting.

“It is considered that the proposed building would not have an impact on the setting of the designated heritage asset (St. Paul’s Conservation Area).

“It would also have no impact upon the setting of the designated heritage asset of the nearby Grade II-listed Jarrow Hall given the intervening buildings and separation distance, and so would not affect its special historic and archaeological interest, and visual appearance”.

A planning statement from the applicant added: “The additional work is being undertaken in partnership with South Tyneside Council both in terms of landowner, partner and commissioner.

“The need for the new building is based on additional [sic] need / requirements by South Tyneside Council to support young people especially those classed as [having] special educational needs”.

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

For more information on the planning application or council decision, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search reference: ST/0476/23/FUL