South Tyneside chiefs go back to the drawing board on 5,000-home planning policy after 'significant' opposition

Chiefs must redraw South Tyneside's Local Plan

The South Tyneside Local PLan is supposed to provide a blueprint for where housing, business and leisure developments should be built or expanded in the borough over the next 15 years.

But bosses are now going back to the drawing board over concerns the document may need a major overhaul before it can be given the green light by the government.

“It’s crucial that we get this right and that the plan delivers maximum benefits for new and existing communities,” said Cllr John Anglin, cabinet member for regeneration and economy at South Tyneside Council.

“We have a statutory obligation to meet our government housing targets but we must balance this with residents’ views, the reality of delivery and forthcoming planning policy.

“The current annual targets for the provision of new homes in the Borough are not being met, meaning that the Local Plan will have to make up this under delivery of housing.

“The stark reality is that the current draft plan will not meet our needs – we need a rethink, and importantly we need the people of South Tyneside to work with us.”

A report on the next steps for the plan is now due to be debated at a meeting of the council’s ruling cabinet.

Public consultation on the latest draft of the policy, which allocated the brunt of building work to South Shields and Boldon, was held in August 2019, with an expectation ministers could have given it the final seal of approval by July 2021.

But according to borough bosses ‘deliverability issues” at some sites, as well as opposition to some aspects of the document, means more land must be identified for building on, prompting a re-write.

As a result, cabinet is expected to approve a review of the plan’s ‘strategic spatial options’.

Once completed, a further round of public consultation is expected to be held later in 2021.

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