Jarrow riverside industrial estate units where Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake was filmed face demolition

South Tyneside Council has received an application for land off Church Bank in the Bede ward, near the River Don.

The site was once linked to timber importers and sawmillers M H Southern but the company, in recent years, has moved operations from South Tyneside to the Felling area of Gateshead.

It was also a filming location in the award-winning feature film I, Daniel Blake from director Ken Loach, which went on to win the Palme d’Or, the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival.

The site, described in the planning listing as “vacant land (formerly M H Southern)”, is now earmarked for demolition, subject to a ruling from South Tyneside Council planning officers.

Applicant AMG Utility Solutions Ltd has applied for “prior approval” for the proposed demolition of 14 buildings on the site.

Details of the development are outlined in a planning application, which notes the site is “vacant and no longer in use” and that “demolition is taking place to facilitate the future redevelopment of the site”.

Those behind the scheme added buildings “would be removed using a suitable means [which] would likely involve manual removal and scrapping of individual components followed by machine demolition.”

The planning application also provides a detailed description of the site and the buildings proposed for demolition.

It states: “The site outlined in red contains a total of fourteen buildings and is situated between the River Don to the north, Don Road to the east, and the A185 to the south and west.

“It is an elongated industrial site, with buildings distributed along its length and concentrated particularly at the northern end.

“At the southern tip of the site, near the junction of the A185, there is a long, shed with a diagonal corner located in the bottom right corner of the site.

“To the north of this are two further sheds, sited parallel to and, of the same style as the first. These appear modern and likely serve as storage or light industrial units.

“Just north of these, in the lower central part of the site, there are three more buildings. Two sit directly to the west of the two northern modern sheds, while another is positioned slightly further north.

“Continuing north through the central zone, there are two additional buildings spaced along the internal access route. These are smallerstructures.

“At the northern end of the site, near the entrance from Don Road and adjacent to the River Don, there is a dense cluster of six buildings.

“These are arranged in a tight formation with some aligned in parallel and others at angles.

“In total, the site contains fourteen buildings: one in the southern section, five in the central portion, and eight in the northern portion.”

Planning documents state demolition is planned to start in early-July, 2025, and would conclude by the beginning of August, 2025.

A decision on the demolition is expected following a period of council consultation.

For more information on the plan,or to track its progress, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 250364