South Tyneside Council's local plan to be put to vote again, months after borough development blueprint is rejected

The draft South Tyneside Local Plan is set to go before the borough council for the second time, despite it being rejected by councillors in September last year.

The local plan aims to provide a framework for where new homes, businesses, shops and leisure amenities will be built up until 2040, and to ensure that the right infrastructure, such as roads, health facilities and schools, is in place to support growth.

The development plan has been years in the making and has been amended following formal consultation exercises, and a large part of the local plan includes allocating sites across the borough as suitable for housing.

However, the plans have also sparked controversy due to proposed housing sites on parts of the Green Belt across South Tyneside, leading to campaign groups forming to oppose the loss of individual sites, including a huge potential housing site south of Fellgate.

At an extraordinary council meeting next week, councillors will be asked to approve the local plan so that it can be submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination in public – the final stage before it can be legally adopted.

The ‘Regulation 22 publication draft’ of the South Tyneside Council Local Plan previously came before borough council in September, 2024, but was dramatically voted down by a majority of councillors amidst cheers and applause from campaigners in the public gallery.

Since then, a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has been published by the new Labour Government with revised housing targets for councils.

Under the new NPPF, the ‘standard method’ for calculating housing need has changed and the council states this provides a local housing target for South Tyneside of a minimum of 623 homes a year, more than double the 309 units planned for in the current draft local plan.

Under “transitional arrangements”, the council states if the plan was submitted for examination before March 12, 2025, it could progress under the old framework, meaning it would not be required to meet the higher housing need figure.

South Tyneside Council states the new planning framework and submission deadline are considered exceptional circumstances to bring the plan back before council.

Councillor Margaret Meling, the council’s cabinet member for economic growth and transport said: “The decision before us is now really quite stark.

“If the current plan is not approved and submitted to the Secretary of State before March 12, 2025, we will have to go back to the drawing board and allocate land for 623 homes a year rather than 309.

“Over the plan period this could mean finding at least 200 hectares of land over and above that already earmarked.

“We have a brownfield first policy, but the reality is there is very limited scope for further development on brownfield sites, so it is likely that the additional 5,300 homes that would be needed to accommodate higher housing need under a revised plan would require land currently in Green Belt.

“I hope that those residents and members previously opposed will take the opportunity to reconsider and now support the existing draft plan.”

The current publication draft of the local plan, which has been subject to two statutory public consultations, proposes to remove five per cent of land from South Tyneside’s Green Belt.

It allocates around 27 sites which would accommodate around 1,190 homes in what is called the “main urban area”, leaving a further 2,253 houses to be accommodated outside this area, including allocating land south of Fellgate as a “sustainable growth area” for up to 1,200 new homes and supporting community infrastructure.

The Save the Fellgate Green Belt campaign, which has opposed proposals for the site amassing a petition signed by more than 2,600 residents, recently slammed the decision to bring the local plan back before councillors.

Dave Green, a spokesperson for the group, accused the council of trying to “railroad [the local plan] through with scaremongering tactics by saying it will be taken out of their hands”.

There was also criticism of the extraordinary council meeting being scheduled for 10am during a half-term week and suggestions this could impact the attendance of some councillors.

When the local plan last went to full council, it was rejected by councillors by a slim majority vote of 26 votes to 23, including one abstention.

Next week’s extraordinary meeting to vote on the local plan was called by a group of 12 Labour councillors, including the leader of South Tyneside Council Tracey Dixon, deputy council leader Jane Carter and several cabinet members, including Cllr Margaret Meling.

Cllr Meling maintained that the local plan was “vital” in allowing the council to “maintain control over development in the borough” and that “without one, we are vulnerable to speculative development proposals”.

“As a consequence of not having an up-to-date development plan that identifies sufficient housing sites to meet the borough’s housing needs, we have a significant shortfall in the supply of housing,” she added.

“But it isn’t just about building houses; it’s about seeking the most sustainable locations for development, creating the kind of communities our residents deserve, with policies in place to protect community facilities and services, enhance nature and wildlife and reduce pollution.

 “We want people who grow up in South Tyneside to be able to stay here, with access to affordable housing and skilled jobs.”

In 2022, the council received almost 1,900 responses during consultation at the local plan’s Regulation 18 stage and that feedback was taken on board and “reflected where possible and appropriate”, according to the council.

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Last year (2024), public consultation on Regulation 19 – which determines if the plan is ‘sound’ and has been prepared legally – attracted a further 384 representations.

The extraordinary meeting of borough council will be held at 10am on Thursday, February 27, 2025, at South Shields Town Hall and the public are welcome to attend.

It is understood that the meeting will be broadcast live via the council’s YouTube channel.

Following the local plan meeting, South Tyneside Council will then meet again at 6pm the same day for the already scheduled budget meeting.