Councillors approve plans to convert former waste management site into 'parcel distribution hub'

South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee, at a meeting this week, approved proposals for an empty unit at Simonside Industrial Estate in the Bede ward.

The unit was formerly home to waste management company Biffa and new plans aimed to repurpose the site for a “parcel distribution company”, although planning documents said an end user had not been confirmed.

The Shaftesbury Avenue site has been empty for around three years and consists of a large industrial warehouse with an associated office, service yard, parking and some landscaping.

Applicant Kans and Kandy Property Ltd purchased the property in 2022 and have since invested £8 million into the building with a “complete overhaul” taking place, according to planning documents.

This involved replacing all the previous cladding and roofing with higher quality insulated material and installing LED lighting and an air source heat pump, along with a new canopy and “side closures”.

The proposals to allow the site to be used for storage and distribution were discussed and approved by South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee on Monday (November 18) at South Shields Town Hall.

Planning officers had recommended the plans for approval and said, in a report, that the scheme would be “complimentary to other existing uses in the area” and would “result in no demonstrable harm in terms of visual amenity, highway safety, residential amenity, biodiversity, drainage and flooding”.

The end user has not been confirmed but it is understood the proposed development would create “a significant number of jobs within the borough”, according to a report presented to councillors.

A planning statement submitted in support of the application added the proposals would bring an existing empty unit back into use and there were “no significant adverse impacts which would outweigh the benefits” of the development.

It added: “The site was formerly part of Biffa, however, has since been empty for several years where the current owner has invested heavily into the fabric of the building to improve the sustainability and efficiency.

“The site will continue to operate in a similar manner under an industrial use (storage and distribution) and will support the employment of over 100 people, therefore, supporting the local and regional growth and prosperity.”

No changes are proposed to the existing car parking on-site and it is proposed 38 cycle spaces be provided, while the access points from Shaftesbury Avenue would remain as existing.

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After being put to the vote on November 18, 2024, councillors voted unanimously to approve the planning application.

While welcoming the scheme, councillor Shirley Ford referenced flooding issues in a nearby area and said additional measures around surface water drainage for the former Biffa unit would have been welcomed.

“It’s a shame that there isn’t a requirement, condition or even a recommendation for betterment of the drainage,” she added.

“So if they’re putting a canopy on and capturing grey water, it would have been ideal to say can’t you use that grey water for something and can’t you put in some additional permeable paving or something, just to improve things?

“Obviously when we’re considering housing development applications we’re always looking for betterment around surface drainage […] I appreciate that it might not be legally allowed, but it would have been better.”

Council planning officers, responding, said the “immediate area” was not considered to be at “high risk” of flooding and on surface water drainage concerns, it was confirmed no extra hardstanding was proposed under the plans.