HMO and bedsits plan for Dean Terrace house revived after fears it would detrimental to South Shields street

South Tyneside Council’s planning department has received an application for 3 Dean Terrace in the town’s Simonside and Rekendyke ward.

The site was previously the focus of a development aiming to provide 10 HMO bedrooms, including seven bedsits, however the plans sparked public opposition during a consultation, including formal objections and petitions in opposition.

South Tyneside Council’s planning department eventually refused the plan on October 31, 2024, and said it would “result in the intensification of use of the property to the detriment of the amenity and highway safety of the proposed and neighbouring occupiers”.

A fresh application from the same applicant Scott-James Properties Ltd is now seeking planning permission for a smaller scheme.

This includes changing the use of the dwelling house to eight ‘HMO rooms’, including six bedsits and two en-suite bedrooms, along with a dormer window to the rear.

The development would also include associated storage and other shared facilities including cycle parking and bin storage, as well as common areas and some open space, planning documents state.

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A design and access statement submitted with the plans notes the previous 10-bedroom HMO scheme was refused by the council over “deemed lack of parking and constrained access” and “poor residential amenity” for some of the bedsit units.

Developers stressed the revised scheme had responded to these issues with changes to the internal layout, information provided about deliveries to the rear of the property and plans “highlighting an opportunity to provide a waiting / turning area on Dean Terrace”.

It was also noted that the site was in a “highly accessible location close to a wide range of local facilities” and that parking demand for new residents could be met “through existing on-street parking and public car parks to the rear of the property”.

The design and access statement adds: “The applicant is agreed to commit funds to create a turning space on Dean Terrace through Traffic Regulation Order.

“This would place parking and waiting restrictions on the highway outside the property to allow turning movements by cars by visitors, but also benefiting other properties on Dean Terrace.

“This would reduce on-street parking capacity of Dean Terrace (from 21 to 20) but would considerably improve its functionality.”

Developers said the plans aimed to “take all opportunities to provide genuinely high quality design whilst accepting the constraint of using an existing building in a tight-knit urban context”.

It was also argued that the revised scheme “ensures a better mix of residential accommodation that reflects space standards for the units and much improved communal facilities” and applicants said they would “agree to planning controls in terms of the use of management protocols in terms of how the building is let and managed in practice.”

A planning statement submitted to council officials noted the plans would respond to “the long-term under use of the vacant unit” and would not lead to an over concentration of HMOs in the area.

Those behind the scheme also acknowledged the previous HMO scheme “provided poor quality accommodation” in relation to some rooms and stressed the new scheme had resolved previous issues.

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The planning statement adds: “This revised scheme has taken a painstaking approach to demonstrate that it properly responds to the previous reasons for refusal, but also that it goes further and provides a new scheme that can deliver genuinely high quality accommodation to respond to identified housing need.

“South Tyneside accepts that it has an inadequate housing land supply and that the presumption in favour of development is triggered.

“As is stated by the council, HMOs are an important element of housing stock which are popular choices for those with limited incomes or who seek more flexibility.

“The council statement also makes very clear that there is absolutely no intent to resist HMO development but simply aims to ensure that a high standard of accommodation is created.”

A house in multiple occupation is a property type where multiple households live together, with individual bedrooms and some communal facilities including kitchen areas, living space and bathroom facilities.

A decision on the Dean Terrace planning application will be made once a period of council consultation has concluded.

For more information on the planning application or to track its progress, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search application reference number: 250090