Update on future of boarded-up St Clare’s Hospice as developers hope for demolition green light

South Tyneside Council’s planning department has received an application for the former hospice site at Primrose Terrace in the Jarrow area.

The site has been unused since the charity which ran the hospice collapsed into insolvency in early 2019, at the time leaving the borough without a dedicated palliative care facility.

Despite campaigners calling for services to return to the site, NHS leaders at South Tyneside’s then Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) approved plans for a new ‘spoke and hub’ model for the borough on September 24, 2020.

This included dedicated ‘home from home’ end-of-life beds at Haven Court, within the grounds of South Tyneside District Hospital, as well as extra resources for community palliative services in the borough.

The former St Clare’s hospice building remains unused but in a statement circulated by several South Tyneside councillors in June, 2025, it was revealed the site had been sold to a property company.

The statement, which is understood to have originated from South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, named the company as McCarthy Stone and said the firm would work with a developer to create “retirement living accommodation”.

The statement noted the St Clare’s site was “listed as a community asset” but that “no bids ever came forward for its future use”, and added the NHS trust would ensure the new owner provides a “fitting memorial” within the site as part of any future development.

When approached for comment earlier this year (2025), the site’s new owners McCarthy Stone confirmed a formal planning application would be submitted this summer, following a consultation exercise.

The planning application has now appeared on South Tyneside Council’s public planning portal website, allowing members of the public to view plans and leave comments.

Applicant McCarthy and Stone (Retirement Lifestyles) Limited is seeking permission for the demolition of the existing building and to redevelop the site for “51 retirement apartments”, along with associated car parking, landscaping and infrastructure.

A design and access statement submitted to council officials describes the applicant as “Britain’s leading retirement accommodation provider” and states the proposed development would operate in a “safe, secure and managed environment”.

The proposed development would include a “communal residents lounge, mobility scooter store, attached refuse store and communal garden [for] residents of the development”.

It was noted that the site was in a “highly accessible location, within close proximity to a variety of shops and transport links which will reduce the dependency on car usage and often leads to reduced car ownership”.

The proposed housing mix would include 15 two-bed apartments and 36 one-bed apartments across a three-storey apartment block, and developers said a flat roof would “minimise the overall height of the building in its immediate context”.

A total of 20 car parking spaces would also be provided on site, with two accessible parking spaces and electric vehicle charging points, along with “a sheltered residents garden with direct access from the communal lounge”.

In addition, two lifts would “service each of the three floors” and a “mobility buggy store is positioned on the gable end of the building, withconvenient access to the pedestrian network.”

A planning statement also submitted with the application notes the accommodation would be aimed at residents “aged 60 and above” and would “foster a friendly retirement community, offering privacy and independence to residents” and “contribute to ensuring that the housing needs of older people in the local area are met”.

It was also noted that the “retirement apartments are intended to appeal to purchasers for whom the need for affordability is key”.

This is linked to McCarthy Stone’s strategy “seeking opportunities to bring forward later living developments in areas of the country that have previously been unviable but where an identified need exists, so more people can access the benefits of this form of living in the most sustainable and accessible locations”.

In terms of access, the proposed vehicular site entrance would be “adapted from the existing access onto Primrose Terrace”, planning documents confirm.

The planning statement adds: “The proposal would meet a specific identified need for older persons’ accommodation that is provided at a lower price range when compared with most retirement schemes.

“This planning application has been informed by a thorough assessment of the constraints and opportunities of the site and a web-based public consultation exercise.

“The application encompasses a suite of technical reports which have informed design proposals to ensure that the development will not have an unacceptable impact on the local environment and residents.

“The proposals constitute much-needed specialist retirement accommodation which makes use of a sustainably located, previously developed site and will provide residents with access to a range of facilities and services, whilst also being in close proximity to sustainable transport infrastructure.”

A South Tyneside Council spokesperson previously said an application to list the St Clare’s building as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) was submitted and approved in 2022.

The council said that “under the ACV process, if the owner of a listed asset wishes to sell, a six-week moratorium is triggered to allow community groups to express interest in purchasing” and “if no group comes forward, the owner is free to proceed with the sale”.

A council spokesperson added: “In the case of St Clare’s, no community group expressed an interest during this period, no valid approach was made during the initial moratorium and the NHS, as the landowner, proceeded with the sale.”

A “statement of community involvement”, submitted with the planning application, references a previous “consultation website” linked to the retirement apartments scheme and how the proposed development would recognise the site’s “legacy in the local community”.

The statement from McCarthy Stone adds: “In recognition of its legacy in the local community, the [South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust] included a clause in its covenant to ensure that McCarthy Stone will provide a fitting memorial within the site as it is developed.

“This will refer to its former use as a hospice [and] a clause has also been included in the terms of sale so that this is passed on to any future owners of the site.”

For more information on the plan, visit the council’s planning portal website and search reference: 250633

A decision on the planning application for the future of the St Clare’s site will be made following a council consultation exercise.

Comments on the plans can be made via South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website until November 3, 2025.

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