New shop in bedroom next to Jarrow Nexus Metro station approved despite crime concerns
Plans to transform part of a residential property near a South Tyneside Metro Station into a shop have been given the green light.
South Tyneside Council’s planning department has approved an application for 8 Grant Street in the borough’s Monkton ward.
A planning statement noted the application site comprised part of the building’s ground floor and that the applicant proposed to “convert the unused ground floor bedroom to a small general dealer/convenience store which would sell a range of goods”.
This included “flowers, cards, wrapping paper, confectionery and pre-made cold snacks (not made on the premises) and cakes”, with proposed opening hours being 7am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.
It was also noted that once established, the proposed shop could employ up to three part-time staff.
The planning statement noted the application site was historically a “general dealer shop” but was granted planning permission to “change into an extension of the adjoining residential accommodation” around 15 years ago.
New plans for the building aimed to “reopen” the “previous entrance door to the retail unit on the corner of Grant Street and Railway Street” and to install a small sign, along with the installation of a suspended ceiling and a small storage area to the rear of the shop.
During a council consultation exercise on the plan, there were no objections from the council’s highway authority, environmental protection team, or from Northumbria Police.
However, one public objection was lodged raising concerns that “an additional store with close proximity to a children’s home may encourage anti-social behaviour”.
Another representation was also submitted stating there were “no objections to this application so long as no alcohol licence is granted to this shop, either now or in the future, and the opening hours are as stated.”
After considering the planning application, South Tyneside Council’s planning department approved it on May 13, 2025.
Council planners, in a council decision report, said the applicant had provided an “explanation and justification for the proposed use” and that there would be “no significant harm to the vitality and viability of the borough’s defined centres”.
This was subject to a planning condition “restricting the range of goods that can be sold from the premises to primarily convenience goods only”, which were listed as “food, drink, tobacco, newspapers, magazines, household cleaning goods and flowers”.
The planning condition added that “no more than 20 per cent of the shop’s retail sales area shall be used for the sale of comparison goods (including clothing, footwear, furniture, furnishings, DIY goods, garden plants/goods, electrical goods/appliances, toys, books/stationary, medicines/toiletries, pet goods, jewellery, carpets/floor coverings, motor vehicle/cycle accessories and sports/leisure goods)”.
The purpose of the condition aimed to “minimise the likelihood of the retail shop drawing customers from a wider than local catchment area” and to help “safeguard the vitality and viability” of retail shops in South Tyneside’s “defined centres.”
Council planners said the visual changes to the building were “minor” and “would not result in any unacceptable negative impacts on the visual amenity of the application property nor the wider street scene”.
The council decision report also said the “sale of alcohol would lie outside of the planning process and be a matter for both Northumbria Police and South Tyneside Council licensing”.
The council report adds: “Whilst there would be an increased footfall and level of activity associated with the use than at present, it is not considered that there would be any materially greater adverse impact upon the residential amenity of neighbouring properties to warrant refusal, based on the current adjacent uses.
“Furthermore, it is considered that any additional adverse amenity impacts, specifically into the evening, could be satisfactorily mitigated through imposition of an opening hours condition to protect residential amenity.”
In response to some concerns about deliveries to the site, the council report said it was the applicant’s intention to “collect stock” with “limited deliveries to the entrance of the property” within opening hours.
Applicants previously argued that “given the proposed size of the development, opening hours and relationship with existing development”, the proposal “would not have a negative impact on the existing standard of amenity experienced by existing residents”.
It was also noted that it would be “highly unlikely that [the shop] would attract car based journeys” and that “the applicant, who would run the shop, lives on site and cycle parking could be provided for any part-time staff within the yard area”, as well as available secure cycle parking at the Metro station.
Under planning conditions, the shop development must be brought forward within three years.
Approved opening hours for the shop would be 7am-6pm with “no deliveries to the retail shop hereby permitted, with the exception of newspapers, outside the hours of 8am to 8pm on any day.”
For more information on the planning application or council decision, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search application reference number: 250203