Key decision on demolition plan for 'severely dilapidated' Pickwick Arms pub site

South Tyneside Council's planning department has approved plans to bulldoze The Pickwick Arms, in Dickens Avenue, South Shields.

The local authority recently secured full ownership of the site, following lengthy legal negotiations with the owners, and announced plans to demolish the building which has become a magnet for graffiti, vandalism and trespassing in recent years, despite the council's attempts to secure the area.

Andrew Whittaker, corporate lead for town centres and foreshore on the local authority, told a recent community meeting it was not possible to repurpose the empty site and that it was “cheaper to knock the building down” instead.

South Tyneside Council recently lodged an application with its own planning department to demolish the vacant pub site, describing it as “severely dilapidated."

The planning application form indicated the site would be levelled post-demolition and fenced off with a low level timber post and rail fence.

A separate “ecological impact assessment” of the site also noted the “demolition of the building will result in the permanent loss of [bat] roosts and other potential roosting features”.

The report said because “it is not possible to retain roosts within the Pickwick Arms building, a European Protected Species Mitigation Licence will be necessary to allow works to proceed”.

It was noted that “interim roosting habitat (bat boxes) should be retained permanently to compensate for the loss of day roosting features”.

Recommendations linked to the development include “the installation of four bat boxes on a nearby row of council properties, to allow the relocation of any bats found during destructive search /works” and the bat boxes “must be in place before works proceed.”

After considering the demolition application for the site, South Tyneside Council's planning department approved it on October 3, 2025.

Council planners, in a decision report , said that "based on the condition of the building and economic viability, it is considered unlikely that the public house would be brought back into this use".

It was noted that "whilst the proposal would demonstrate the loss of a public house, this has not been operational for a number of years and the condition of the building brings into question the feasibility of it reopening as a public house [and] the works required would not be economically feasible in light of the condition of the building".

In this context, the council's planning department said the "principle of the development is considered acceptable".

It was also noted that measures would be put in place to "ensure there is no adverse impact from noise or dust escape as a result of the demolition activity" on neighbouring properties.

The council decision report adds: "In terms of ecological impacts, the application was accompanied by an ecological impact assessment report, a bat and bird method statement strategy, and a reasoned statement for the removal of bat roosts.

"To assess these documents, consultation has been undertaken with the council’s ecologist (countryside team) [...] overall, it was considered that the proposed development had potential to impact confirmed and potential roosting features and the loss of existing bird nesting opportunities and may cause harm/disturbance to nesting birds.

"As such, a Natural England licence is required by the applicant to allow the demolition to take place, due to the fact that bat roosts are protected by law.

"The countryside officer has reviewed [the] reasoned statement submitted with the application and considered that the licence application is likely to succeed.

"Within the submitted bat and bird method statement strategy, it details suitable mitigation to the ecological impacts as a result of the development.

"Therefore, subject to a planning condition to ensure that the proposal is undertaken in accordance with the bat and bird method statement strategy, the proposal is considered acceptable with regard to ecological impacts."

Under planning conditions, the development must take place within three years.

For more information on the plan and council decision, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 250532

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