Decision day looms for Boldon Colliery brain injury rehabilitation care home plan

South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee will discuss a planning application for a vacant site off Brockley Terrace in the Boldon Colliery area.

The site sits at the end of a terrace of houses, close to the junction with Hedworth Lane, and according to planning documents, was historically occupied by a social club before its closure and subsequent demolition.

New plans from applicant Voyage 1 Ltd, submitted last year (2024), sought full planning permission for a two-storey building on the site along with external amenity space and landscaping.

A design and access statement submitted to council officials at the time said the development would include “twelve transitional living apartments” and would form part of Voyage Care’s brain rehabilitation service.

Those behind the care scheme said the vacant site “provides opportunity for high quality residential care home accommodation” and that the proposed care service would support service-users and provide “stepping stones to independence”.

South Tyneside Council’s planning department, in a report published ahead of a decision-making Planning Committee next week, have recommended the plans for approval.

It was noted that “up to 12 residents would be accommodated in the care home” and that “care staff would operate on a two-shift system with up to 10 staff working on the day shift (8am to 10pm) and two staff on the night shift (10pm to 8am)”.

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Council planners also confirmed no on-site car parking is proposed but confirmed the applicant had “agreed to provide four off-site car parking spaces to the immediate west of the site on Wilton Gardens South in an area that was historically used for servicing purposes by the club which formerly occupied the site.”

The application proposal has been subject to additional information, amendments and clarifications and initial plans saw four public representations either objecting or raising queries.

However, council planners have said the site is acceptable in key areas such as design, residential amenity, highways and ecology, subject to conditions.

Council planners, in a committee report, noted that day-to-day operational matters and management associated with the care home would be the responsibility of the operator, and that the care home would also need to be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

The council committee report adds: “The site is, in principle, considered to be an acceptable location for the proposal.

“The proposal overall would be sustainable development […] and in accordance with relevant local and national planning policy in terms of highways / parking, flood risk / drainage, contaminated land, ecology, design,and residential amenity considerations.”

Those behind the care home plans previously said the scheme would provide “transitional living accommodation” which is “designed to bring the benefits of independent living with the security of specialist support close by”.

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It was confirmed that “as independence increases and care and support needs decrease, people supported move closer to community-based rehabilitation and support at home.”

A planning statement from applicants noted residents typically stay in brain injury rehabilitation services for “2-3 years, depending on their recovery and care needs”.

The applicant added the Boldon Colliery service would support individuals to co-create personalised support plans focusing on interests, priorities and skills to enable the “best quality of life outcomes.”

A transport statement submitted to council officials on behalf of the applicant acknowledged a “worst case” scenario where “all staff would drive, with a peak trip generation of 10 vehicles associated with the dayshift […] and a service vehicle owned by Voyage used to assist residents”.

However, the transport statement said “there is more than sufficient capacity within on-street parking in the surrounding area to accommodate the limited level of vehicles associated with the development.”

The final say on the planning application rests with councillors on South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee, who will next meet on Monday, March 10, 2025.

The meeting is scheduled to take place at South Shields Town Hall from 10am and will be open to the public.

For more information on the planning application, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search reference: ST/0667/24/FUL