Planners deliver verdict on future of South Shields house amid concerns over crime, bins and more
Plans for a new five-bedroom house in multiple occupation (HMO) in South Shields have been blocked by councillors.
South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee, at a meeting this week, discussed and voted on plans for 34 Alnwick Road in the borough’s Biddick and All Saints ward.
Plans from AA Sutton Property Ltd were seeking permission for the change of use from a three-bedroom “C3 dwelling” to a five-person HMO.
Plans for the HMO included a shared kitchen / dining area to the ground floor and bedrooms across all floors, including a loft space.
The application falls against a backdrop of South Tyneside Council’s recent decision last year (2025) to launch an “immediate” borough-wide Article 4 Direction removing permitted development rights for small HMOs, meaning that planning permission is now needed for all HMOs across the borough.
The planning application from developers for 34 Alnwick Road noted work had already started on the property in September, 2025, but that the “work or change of use has not been completed.”
A planning statement from developers also said the HMO would be “professionally designed and managed” and aimed at “young working professionals” and that the property would have a “dedicated property manager with a set of guidelines”, covering areas such as preventing antisocial behaviour.
It was argued that the site was “sustainably located” and would “make an efficient use of existing housing stock, providing additional, high-quality accommodation that supports local housing needs without adversely impacting the character of the area or the amenities of neighbouring occupiers.”
Developers also argued that “given the minimal change in the bedrooms […] the comings and goings of five tenants will not be significantly greater than those of a family unit” and that the HMO could be “easily absorbed into the neighbourhood.”
South Tyneside Council’s planning department, in a report published ahead of a decision-making Planning Committee this week, had recommended the HMO for approval.
Council planners said the “greatest weight in deciding this application needs to be given to the NPPF [national planning policy framework] as opposed to local planning policy, given that the application includes housing development and the council’s housing land supply/delivery deficiencies”.
It was noted that the proposal would “provide social and economic gains by contributing to reducing the current shortfall in terms of housing supply” and that “no significant harm or adverse impacts have been identified in respect of visual and residential amenity, biodiversity, highway safety, or in respect of crime/antisocial behaviour/fear of crime and flood risk/drainage.”
During a council public consultation exercise on the plans however, the HMO plan sparked opposition with 22 formal objections raising a range of concerns.
This included concerns about the “end user” of the HMO, parking pressures, impacts on “local character and community cohesion”, “strain on local services”, waste management, loss of privacy for neighbours, loss of a family home, antisocial behaviour and the plan “setting a precedent for future HMO developments in the area.”
The HMO application was called into the Planning Committee by Biddick and All Saints councillor Rachael Taylor and councillors on the decision-making panel discussed the HMO bid on Monday (March 16, 2026).
A number of members of the public spoke against the plans at South Shields Town Hall before the HMO was discussed by members of the committee.
After being put to the vote, the HMO plan was refused unanimously with a number of refusal reasons cited.
The motion to refuse the plans, against the recommendation of council planning officers, was raised by councillor Shirley Ford on the grounds of highway safety and parking in terms of parking demand in the street, harm to residential amenity and the character of the area and the “cumulative impact” of HMOs in the area.
The applicant has the right to challenge the council’s refusal decision by lodging an appeal with the Secretary of State.
For more information on the plan and council decision, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 260030