Plans to build family home in back garden of Boldon Colliery house thrown out over huge road safety risk
Plans for a family home in a garden area have been thrown out at appeal by a Government-appointed planning inspector, following highway safety fears.
The national Planning Inspectorate, in a decision published this month, has dismissed an appeal against a previous South Tyneside Council ruling for a property at Kingswood Close in the Boldon Colliery area.
Plans were previously submitted seeking permission to build a two-storey dwelling in the property’s rear garden with a single-storey attached garage.
The proposals also included the site being “subdivided by a fence to separate the proposed new dwelling from the existing dwelling on the site and for a highway verge crossing to be installed to the [proposed new home’s] front boundary onto Cotswold Lane.”
During a council consultation exercise on the plans there were a mix of responses, including around 11 public objections raising concerns about highway safety issues, parking, loss of privacy and impacts on trees.
A total of 11 representations were also submitted in support of the planning proposal, with some welcoming the re-use of “wasted land” and others stating the house would be a “perfect family home” which would “fit nicely amongst the houses already there”.
The refusal was linked to the proposed vehicle access and the site’s location, with council planners arguing that the plans would “result in significant harm to highways safety”.
The judgement followed previous concerns from council highways officers about “drivers not expecting vehicle movements from one individual plot access onto that road”, with Cotswold Lane described as a “local distributor road that does not at present have direct vehicle access to it from individual dwellings”.
Council planners argued that the “lack of on-site vehicle turning space or visitor parking would result in vehicles having to reverse onto or off the public highway to enter/exit the site” and that there would be an “increased risk of visitor parking on Cotswold Lane arising adjacent to the site”.
Despite additional comments from a transport consultant, a council decision report said highway safety issues could not be “satisfactorily addressed” around the “new vehicular access, manoeuvring and parking at this location”.
It was also argued that the “substantial and lasting harm that would be caused to highway safety would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the small-scale benefits resulting from the development”, including social benefits of “adding to the housing supply in the area.”
The applicant later lodged an appeal against the council refusal and a planning inspector was appointed by the Secretary of State to rule on the matter.
A decision published on March 25, 2025, has confirmed that the planning inspector has upheld the council’s original refusal decision and dismissed the appeal.
The planning inspector described Cotswold Lane as a 30mph “thoroughfare between several residential areas, providing a connection to the A19” and noted it doesn’t have “the characteristics of a street”, with a “general absence of development fronting the road”.
Reports of speeding on the road and the use of a pedestrian crossing by families and children travelling to a nearby primary school were also referenced in the appeal decision report.
The planning inspector noted that “given the scale of the proposal and likely number of trips generated, [the plan] would not have a severe impact on the highway network”.
However, the planning inspector added that “the complex road layout in the vicinity of the appeal site [and] proposed access arrangements present a degree of risk for road users and pedestrians”.
This included the proposed driveway “not allowing sufficient space for a vehicle to manoeuvre, especially if two cars were parked on the drive”, with concerns raised about “reversing manoeuvres in the road”, as well as existing traffic issues and parking impacts.
The appeal decision report states: “Access and egress to the site would be at a point in Cotswold Lane where drivers need to take more care.
“While some drivers would be slowing down as they approach the crossing, there would also be cars accelerating to join CotswoldLane from Cinderford Close.
“Furthermore, residents have indicated that it is not uncommon for buses to park up for a period of time at the bus stop waiting for theirscheduled departure time therefore restricting visibility.
“In this context, there could reasonably also be vehicles overtaking the stationary bus.
“Given the nature of Cotswold Lane as a local distributor road and the absence of dwellings fronting the road as would be common on a street, drivers would not be expecting a vehicle to be reversing onto or manoeuvring in the road.
“Highway safety would be further undermined in the likely scenario that excess demand for visitor parking is displaced in front of the appeal site.
“Cars parked either wholly on the grass verge and pavement or partially on the road would harmfully interrupt and reduce intervisibility between all road uses.
“This situation would be mirrored by delivery vehicles, who would also be likely to park in this way for convenience.”
The planning inspector concluded that the plans would “introduce an unacceptable increase in the potential for conflict between road users, prejudicing the highway system”.
While acknowledging the proposal would “deliver a well-designed home in an accessible location and make effective use of land”, it was argued that the “adverse impacts of granting planning permission would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits”.
The appeal decision report added: “My attention has been drawn to an apparently similar access arrangement on Cotswold Lane where vehicles are able to park next to the road.
“While this is opposite the junction with Station Road it is not in a particularly complex section of Cotswold Lane and so is not directly comparable to the appeal scheme.
“In any event, from my observations the parking area is of a much larger dimension than the proposed driveway, and allows for manoeuvring off the road so that cars could exit in a forward gear.
“Even if it is not large enough for vans or HGVs it is not supported in evidence that it is likely that these types of vehicles would be parkingon Cotswold Lane.
“The other example does not therefore lead me away from myabove findings.
“There is also support for the scheme from some local residents, however this is not a reason in itself to allow harmful development.”
The planning inspector also concluded that the proposal would be “unduly harmful to highway safety for all users on Cotswold Lane.”
More information about the planning application and appeal decision can be found via South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website.