Petition to save Fellgate Green Belt is submitted to South Tyneside councillors

It comes after a “Save the Fellgate Green Belt” campaign was set up by concerned residents who are against proposals for the area which form part of South Tyneside’s draft Local Plan.

The final document will provide a framework for where new homes, businesses and leisure facilities will be built up until 2040, and a draft plan has been through two rounds of public consultation to date.

The blueprint identifies land south of Fellgate as a Sustainable Growth Area, which is allocated for up to 1,200 new homes and supporting community infrastructure, but this has been met with strong objections from residents.

Campaigners previously said if the development was to go ahead it “will have a serious detrimental impact on the current Fellgate and Hedworth community for many, many years to come”.

An online petition was therefore set up to contest the development, which was submitted to South Tyneside Council at the latest authority-wide meeting on Thursday (July 25).

The meeting heard the petition had 2,248 signatories in total, although this number has now increased to 2,388.

Councillor Geraldine Kilgour, Fellgate and Hedworth ward representative, said it was “a privilege to be authorised by our passionate and hardworking Save the Fellgate Green Belt group to present this petition”.

Mayor Councillor Fay Cunningham explained, in accordance with council procedure rules, that the petition would not be debated at the meeting and would be referred to the appropriate council body to be dealt with.

She added: “In accordance with standing orders, the petition stands referred to the director of place strategy as the appropriate body for further consideration.”

Click here to get the Gazette’s headlines delivered to your inbox with our free email newsletters

Speaking after the meeting, Dave Green from the Save the Fellgate Green Belt campaign group, said they continue to have “strong support and are gathering momentum” with the petition numbers “continuing to rise”.

He added: “Residents throughout the area continue to highlight concerns that any development on the Fellgate green belt would not only mean the loss of an oasis of biodiverse natural habitat for many forms of wildlife, but would also mean the loss of a working farm as well as severely increasing traffic congestion and flooding.

“The development would also have a severely detrimental effect on the mental and physical health and wellbeing of many local residents for decades to come.

“There are many brownfield sites available throughout the area which could easily accommodate South Tyneside’s need for housing.”

Speaking in March, council chiefs noted residents and businesses had been invited to give their views on the draft Local Plan during two public consultation periods in summer 2022 and early 2024. 

They added feedback had been used to shape and refine the publication draft Local Plan, which will be submitted to the Secretary of State for a public examination before an independent planning inspector later this year.

The council also consulted on a scoping report for the Fellgate Sustainable Growth Area supplementary planning document alongside the Local Plan consultation. 

You can view the “Save the Fellgate Green Belt” petition by visiting: https://www.change.org/p/save-the-greenbelt-south-fellgate-housing-development and find out more at: https://savethefellgategreenbelt.co.uk/.