Verdict in on demolition bid for empty South Shields trading estate factory that's in a bad way

South Tyneside Council’s planning department has approved an application for an industrial unit in the Bede Trading Estate in the borough’s Bede ward.

The unit sits near the junction of Pilgrimsway and the A185, near the Port of Tyne, and was once the home of a manufacturing business with factory space and offices.

A planning application for the site, submitted earlier this year (2025), described it as an “old factory building” and confirmed demolition was being proposed because the building is “disused”, in a “poor state of repair” and “not compliant with modern standards”.

Applicant Northern Trust Company Limited said that “progressive demolition” was being proposed with a “long reach 360 degree machine with cab protection and demolition attachments” and that “masonry and concrete arisings will be crushed to generate recycled aggregate”.

It was noted that “all other arisings will be sorted into different waste streams and removed from site for disposal and/or recycling.”

The planning application also confirmed that “redevelopment or rebuilding” is “proposed at a later date”, although no further details were provided.

After considering the demolition application, South Tyneside Council’s planning department approved it on September 19, 2025.

Council planners, in a decision report, said the “proposed method of demolition would be appropriate given the scale of the building” and that the “proposed method of site restoration would also be acceptable, leaving the site in a tidy condition.”

Under planning conditions, it was noted that demolition must take place “within five years of the date of this decision.”

However, a previous planning application noted applicants hope to start demolition work on site next month (October, 2025) and to complete work by December 19, 2025.

Planning documents noted the “site will be left in a tidy, safe and flat condition with a capping layer of recycled aggregate to protect subsoils where the building and hard standings have been removed.”

For more information on the plan and council decision, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 250462

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