South Tyneside councillors approve plans to build 260 new homes despite more than 180 objections

South Tyneside Council’s Planning Committee, at a meeting this week, approved plans for the home of South Tyneside College in the Westoe area.

The campus, which forms part of Tyne Coast College, had been earmarked for demolition as part of plans to relocate the college and marine school to the heart of South Shields town centre.

As part of the project, college bosses planned to sell the site to housebuilder Avant Homes for a development offering up to 260 homes, with a mix of two, three, four and five-bedroom homes proposed.

The capital receipt from this site aims to meet a funding gap for the college relocation project, which already includes £20 million grant funding from the Department for Education and £8 million from South Tyneside Council.

At a meeting this week, councillors heard that housing plans were an ‘enabling development’ and would help generate around £23 million towards the £51 million college relocation project.

A report from council planning officers said that, in this context, the housing development could not deliver any affordable housing.

Despite the plans being amended to reduce tree losses and to retain trees along the site’s main boundaries, concerns were raised by campaigners about the scale of tree removal, given the council’s ‘climate emergency’ declaration.

This included 143 out of 283 individual trees on site being felled, including many trees protected by preservation orders, with concerns raised by the council’s tree team about the issue.

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

A report presented to decision-makers, which recommended the plans for approval, noted the scale of public objection to the scheme during consultation.

This included nearly 200 letters of public objection, as well as digital and physical petitions which were noted to have attracted thousands of signatures.

Concerns were also raised by local ward councillors, Green Party councillor for Beacon and Bents, David Francis, and Labour MP for South Shields, Emma Lewell-Buck.

Concerns ranged from the scale of the housing estate and absence of affordable housing, to increased traffic and the loss of a locally listed former planetarium building at the college site.

Despite council planners noting the development would provide hundreds of replacement trees, objectors said it would take decades for the trees to reach the same level of maturity and levels of ‘carbon capture’.

Criticism was also levelled at the council for asking decision-makers to approve the housing plans as part of a wider package of five applications linked to the college relocation.

This included planning applications for a new South Shields college campus and student accommodation block, which were both voted through by councillors before the Avant Homes housing application was even discussed.

Councillor Ann Best, Labour representative for Westoe ward, said she supported the wider college relocation and its regeneration and economic benefits.

However, she said the project should not be “to the detriment of residents in my Westoe ward” and noted the “environmental loss” of trees, community impacts, traffic pressures, proposals for “too many houses” and more.

Cllr Best also called for the committee to defer the application, adding: “Please can we have better for Westoe”.

Councillor Glenn Thompson, independent representative for Westoe ward, said the housing development was being “rushed at the cost of due diligence and significantly, without a local plan”.

The councillor noted that replacement playing fields were not being provided in the Westoe ward and that the absence of affordable/social housing was in conflict with local and national planning policies.

Councillor Rachael Milne, Green Party councillor and member of South Tyneside Tree Action Group said the “vast majority” of trees could be spared if plans were redesigned and resubmitted.

She added that a biodiversity net gain report linked to the plans represented “greenwashing” and called for the Planning Committee to “resist pressure to develop”.

Several Westoe residents also spoke out at South Shields Town Hall calling for a rethink on the housing plans and raising concerns about its impact.

Elsewhere, a written representation from Emma Lewell-Buck MP, included in a planning report, called for the Planning Committee to “reject the plans in their current format” and to address “very important issues”.

This included “increased pressure on local services”, lack of greenspace and play facilities, highway safety concerns from increased traffic, impact on trees and wildlife and “inadequate consultation” with local residents.

While supporting the need for “quality housing” and the wider college relocation, the South Shields MP added: “We must never create improvements in one area at the detriment of another area of our town”.

Speakers for both Tyne Coast College and Avant Homes also gave speeches at the crunch planning meeting outlining the social and economic benefits of the new housing and the wider college relocation.

This included millions of pounds of investment into the local economy, sports-related inward investment, construction jobs and the benefits for the college in attracting students, boosting town centre footfall and providing skills for the future.

A representative for the college described the proposed relocation as a “once in a generation programme of development” and said the sale of the current site was key to it becoming a reality.

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A representative from Avant Homes said the company “acknowledged the strength of feeling” around the future of existing trees on the site and stressed the scheme had been redesigned in response to concerns.

Council committee documents stated that providing the requested 25% affordable housing would cost £5 million, “reducing the college’s capital receipt” and leaving a figure “falling well short” of funding required for their town centre campus.

Avant Homes bosses told councillors that the housing plans had been backed up by an ‘enabling viability report’, and that there was mitigation in place for the loss of playing fields at site.

This included improved sporting facilities at both Epinay School and the Harton and Westoe Collieries Welfare Ground in South Shields.

During discussion on the housing plans, several Planning Committee members raised concerns and called for a decision on the plans to be deferred.

Councillor Paul Brenen said houses were being “crammed” into the site to enable town centre development elsewhere, with “Westoe residents taking all the pain and receiving none of the gain”.

“If this was a standalone development we wouldn’t be entertaining it, it’s that bad,” he added.

Councillor Sarah McKeown raised concerns about the loss of the locally listed former planetarium, the absence of affordable housing in favour of larger homes and the “significant number” of tree losses.

Councillor Shirley Ford also called for the application to be deferred to improve the housing plan which, in its current form, “fell short” when “considered on its merits”.

Councillor Geraldine Kilgour said the housing application was an “emotive matter” and added it was “very disappointing” to see no social or affordable housing proposed.

However, Cllr Kilgour noted the borough was required to deliver housing against targets and that it was “not palatable to come from Green Belt”, with movement needed “in certain other areas to provide for that”.

After being put to the vote, the application was approved by a majority of councillors present and one abstention.

When the decision was finally made in the council chamber it was greeted by boos from those attending in the public gallery, along with shouts of “shame on you.”

The Planning Committee meeting, which almost ran to four hours, also saw a number of planning applications approved as part of the wider college relocation.

This included a new college campus in South Shields town centre, between King Street and Coronation Street, works to refurbish a listed building at Barrington Street and a new replacement student accommodation block off Fowler Street.

The final application from South Shields Football Club Foundation Ltd included new sporting facilities, including a 3G pitch and ‘futsal arena’ at Harton And Westoe Collieries Welfare Ground.

All applications had been recommended for approval ahead of the meeting by council planning officers, who ruled the developments would provide numerous benefits which would outweigh any harms arising.

Councillor Tracey Dixon, leader of South Tyneside Council, said the planning decisions on the college relocation were “fantastic news and a real turning point for South Shields town centre”.

Cllr Dixon, speaking after Monday’s planning meeting, added: “It’s exciting that years of planning, assembling sites and developing infrastructure is coming to fruition and soon we’ll start to see real change”.