Plans approved for new council homes development in South Shields

South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee, at a meeting this week, approved an application for 17 new residential dwellings.

The application for land sitting between Reynolds Avenue and Gainsborough Avenue in the Whiteleas ward was submitted by the local authority last year.

According to planning documents, the site once housed a care home but is now “mostly level grassed space”.

A design and access statement submitted to council officials noted the housing would be for ‘100 per cent affordable rent’ with a mix of two-storey houses aimed at “families of three to six people”.

The mix of council homes would include five two-bedroom homes, nine three-bedroom homes and three four-bedroom homes arranged across terraces with dedicated parking and visitor parking bays.

Two new vehicle accesses were also proposed from Reynolds Avenue, with one designed as a ’shared surface’ arrangement “forming a controlled through access to Gainsborough Avenue”.

Those behind the housing scheme said this arrangement would “avoid the creation of multiple turning heads within the narrow site, minimising the visual impact of the proposed highway and maximising the thermal efficiency of the terraces proposed”.

South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee formally discussed the plans at a meeting at South Shields Town Hall on Tuesday, August 27.

Council planning officers, in a report prepared ahead of the decision-making meeting, had recommended the new homes for approval.

The council committee report said the proposal would “boost housing supply (where there is currently under provision) on a site that is in a sustainable location, close to public transport and local shops”.

It was noted that the site was allocated for housing in the council’s emerging local plan and would “deliver a significant contribution towards meeting affordable housing need”.

Several councillors spoke out in support of the plan including councillor Eileen Leask, who described it as a “straightforward planning application” with “no objection from the public”.

Councillor Andrew Guy described the development as a “fantastic scheme” for “really really much-needed local authority housing” and praised the low-carbon heating proposed for the homes.

After being put to the vote, the planning application won unanimous support from the council’s Planning Committee.

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However, CGI images of the proposed housing shown to councillors did not escape criticism, with councillor Kate Owens-Palmer describing the design as “a bit brutalist”.

Cllr Owens-Palmer continued: “It looks a bit like a workhouse or a prison camp, that’s entirely my personal view.

“I’m sure with gardens and planting it will look delightful”.

Under planning conditions, the development needs to be brought forward within three years.

All proposed homes are expected to be managed and maintained by South Tyneside Council.

For more information on the housing plan or council decision, visit South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website and search reference: ST/0741/23/LAA.