Plans approved for a 3G pitch and 'futsal' arena to be installed at a South Tyneside sports club

South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee, at a meeting this week, approved plans for the Harton and Westoe Collieries Welfare Ground in South Shields.

This included a bid for enhanced sports facilities at the site as part of ‘compensation’ for the loss of playing pitches at the South Tyneside College site, where up to 260 homes are planned.

The college site is being developed for housing to help fund the relocation of South Tyneside’s college and marine school to the heart of South Shields town centre.

To make the plans acceptable in planning terms, and to satisfy requirements of government agency Sport England around the loss of playing pitches, mitigation around sports provision was proposed.

This included works at Harton and Westoe Collieries Welfare Ground, where new pitches are proposed, as well as improved facilities at Epinay School.

The application for Harton and Westoe Collieries Welfare came from South Shields Football Club Foundation Ltd and was submitted to South Tyneside Council last year, proposing a range of facilities.

Final plans included a 9×9 junior grass football pitch and a 3G pitch capable of being used as a single 11×11 pitch or two x 9×9 pitches, along with a futsal arena, additional parking, floodlighting, fencing and landscaping.

During a council consultation exercise on the plans, nearly 80 public objections were submitted with concerns about the intensification of sporting activities at the site, and associated impacts on residents living nearby.

This included privacy and noise impacts, increased traffic and light pollution, as well as questions about the suitability of the site and whether alternatives could be explored.

Arguments for and against the proposals were put forward at a meeting of South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee at South Shields Town Hall on December 18, 2023.

A representative for residents of Strathmore Gardens, which sits alongside the application site, said there were fears about the increased frequency of use of the sporting facilities.

This included the potential for noise impacts from morning into the evening, and resulting impacts on the health and wellbeing of neighbours.

Concerns were also raised about anti-social behaviour from players, as well as questions about the validity of estimated noise levels linked to the new development.

Steve Camm, of South Shields FC Foundation, said the plans were about the “future growth and sustainability” of the site as a community hub supporting the “development of sport, health and wellbeing”.

He told councillors he was “alert” to the objections and concerns from residents and that the proposals had been amended to reduce impacts as much as possible.

This included a “significant reduction” in the hours of operation and the introduction of an acoustic fence, along with additional parking and cycle parking, and specific management plans for future events at the site.

It was also noted that the sports facilities, recommended for approval by council planners, were an ‘enabling development’ helping to facilitate the wider relocation of South Tyneside College.

During discussion of the application, however, concerns were raised by several members of the Planning Committee.

Councillor Shirley Ford noted attempts by the applicant to reduce impacts on neighbours and said they “go some way but absolutely not enough”.

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Councillor Paul Brenen raised concerns about flooding, and noted that replacement playing fields, as part of the mitigation for the loss of playing fields at South Tyneside College, were not “like-for-like”.

Councillor Stephen Dean, who has links to grassroots football in the borough, said playing pitches at the South Tyneside College site had “never been good enough to be used”.

Cllr Dean added the borough was “losing teams” to Washington and Sunderland due to the lack of appropriate facilities locally, and welcomed plans for the borough to “gain” new sporting facilities.

Councillor Ian Forster said he welcomed sporting facilities for the benefits they bring to communities and public health but stressed they needed to be “the right facility in the right place”.

The councillor asked for a decision on the plans to be deferred to a later date to investigate noise impacts, however, this failed to win majority support.

Earlier in the meeting, the Planning Committee approved four other applications linked to the relocation of South Tyneside College.

This included a new college campus in South Shields town centre, works to refurbish a listed building at Barrington Street, a new replacement student accommodation block off Fowler Street and a 260-home development on the college’s existing Westoe site.

Councillor Doreen Purvis, chair of the Planning Committee, said that deferring the final application for sports facilities would “make a nonsense of everything we have already agreed”.

Cllr Purvis added: “To use a sporting metaphor, we can’t keep kicking things into the long grass, a decision needs to be taken based on what we’ve heard”.

Councillor Eileen Leask also expressed sympathy to objectors but said the Planning Committee had to “obey the law”.

She added: “My heart does go out to you […] but I’m afraid I don’t think we have any choice but to pass it”.

After being put to vote again, the planning application was approved by a majority vote with four councillors voting against.