Key verdict delivered on huge energy scheme for old filming location in South Tyneside

South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee, at a meeting this week, approved an application for outline planning permission for a site in the borough’s Bede ward.

The site, which sits off Church Bank in the Jarrow area, was once linked to timber importers and sawmillers M H Southern but the company, in recent years, has moved operations from South Tyneside to Gateshead.

The Jarrow site was previously 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.

BESS schemes aim to import and store electrical power during periods of oversupply in the National Grid, and export it back into the energy network when needed to help ‘balance’ the grid.

Several BESS developments have been approved in the region in recent years, including at a site near the A19 in Sunderland and a site in West Boldon, and at another site at Hastings Hill Farm on Wearside, with the developments cited as a key part of the UK’s move towards Net Zero, helping more renewable energy to be brought online.

Plans to demolish industrial buildings and structures at the Jarrow site earmarked for a new BESS were approved in July, 2025, and the submission of an outline planning application later the same year represented the next step towards the energy storage development becoming a reality.

A supporting planning statement submitted with the application on behalf of applicant AMG Utility Solutions Ltd said plans include “the installation of a BESS and associated grid-connection infrastructure, internal access, landscaping, sustainable drainage and other ancillary works”.

Those behind the scheme said the site’s location had “excellent grid and transport connections, capable of accommodating the proposed battery energy storage system without adverse effects on residential amenity, landscape character or heritage significance.”

As an outline planning application, applicants were seeking permission for the principle of development on site with “all matters reserved for later approval”, which would be assessed separately by the council through the ‘reserved matters’ application process.

Those behind the scheme said that the proposal “represents an efficient and sustainable reuse of brownfield land inside a strategic employment corridor” and could be “delivered without undue impact on the environment or surrounding operations and will make a significant contribution to clean-energy infrastructure.”

Battery energy storage developments normally include a concentration of battery units, or ‘energy storage cabinets’, along with associated infrastructure, and BESS developments can include hundreds of units depending on the size and constraints of individual sites.

A design and access statement noted “plant and equipment will occupy only the central portion” of the Jarrow site, “leaving generous perimeter zones for landscaping, habitat creation and future access improvements” and that the “precise footprint will be determined at [the] reserved matters stage once the layout and final supplier specifications are known.”

Council planning officers, in a report published ahead of a decision-making meeting this week, had recommended the planning application for approval.

The council committee report said the “proposed development would be acceptable in principle and in terms of the amount of development, the scale and layout, environmental impacts, its impact upon heritage assets, traffic and road safety, and residential amenity”.It added that battery storage facilities are a “key component of energy facilities in the UK” and are “able to store excess electricity generated by renewable energy facilities when demand is low and release energy to the grid at periods of high demand, or when electricity generated by renewable sources is low”.

In this context, and the context of South Tyneside Council’s borough-wide climate emergency declaration in 2019, the principle of the development was deemed acceptable.

This included the plan meeting policy aims around “environmental benefits in terms of supporting/promoting renewable energy generation and associated carbon reduction” and supporting “the future development needs of the Port of Tyne.”

South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee discussed and approved the outline plans at a meeting on March 9, 2026, at South Shields Town Hall.

Councillor Paul Brenen noted the development was in close proximity to the River Don and asked about what mitigation would be put in place to reduce environmental impacts in the case of a fire.

Council planners, responding, said details would be provided later in the planning process but that, in a similar way to other BESS developments, “bunding” would be used for the “sensible” disposal of water.

Councillor Shirley Ford also noted that the Planning Committee were deciding on the principle of development and that further details would be submitted as part of the reserved matters process.

“This is a very welcome development in terms of essential infrastructure to support renewable energy,” Cllr Ford added.

“It’s something that we really need as part of dealing with a climate emergency but it has to be in the right place and has to be done well and safely.”

Councillors heard that vacant industrial buildings had been demolished in advance of construction.

The supporting statement from applicants previously confirmed the proposed development would be “constructed over a period of 8 to 12 months” and that the BESS would be capable of storing around “100MW of energy.”

Applicants also confirmed the development would be designed in line with national guidance to prevent fire risks and that a battery safety management plan would be linked to the scheme.

For more information on the planning application and council decision, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 250408