We’re calling on a housing group to rethink its women’s refuge plans
A group of Simonside residents are calling on a housing group to reconsider creating a women’s refuge.
Campaigning residents in the Simonside area are urging Gateshead-based Changing Lives to rethink their proposals to create a new women’s refuge in South Tyneside.
The calls come after the proposed property was vandalised and subjected to arson on three separate occasions.
South Tyneside Council granted planning permission last year to convert a property into a five-bed accommodation women’s refuge to support vulnerable single women who require specialist support.
The application received more than 275 objections and residents believe that given the property has been publicly identified in the planning documents, Changing Lives should rethink their plans.
‘Worried about long-term consequences’
Judith Ware, a Simonside resident, said: ”Whilst unfortunately such accommodation is needed to support vulnerable women, the fact that the property has now been identified, is adjacent to a main road and has been the subject of vandalism before it has even been converted, makes me worry about the long-term consequences for our community if this unit opens.”
The campaigning residents have confirmed that they have made a formal complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman about the planning process, which they believe was “rushed through” by planning officers.
Following concerns from local residents, Changing Lives has urged members of the public to get in touch with any questions that they may have relating to the women’s refuge.
‘Get in touch’
A spokesperson for the housing group said: "We understand why some residents have concerns and we want to reassure the community that we have listened, and will continue to listen, to those who get in touch.
"We have responded to emails we have received and our door remains open.
“We would encourage anyone with questions about the service to contact us directly at [email protected], or to review the full planning record held by South Tyneside Council.
"Many of the objections to this application were submitted before residents had access to full details about the nature of the service. We hope that as people learn more about how we operate, some of those concerns will be allayed.
“We also plan to hold further engagement sessions with the local community and will share details of these in due course.
"The arson attack on the property was a serious incident and we are working closely with Northumbria Police.
“The safety of our staff, those we support, and the wider community is our absolute priority, and we are increasing security measures accordingly.
"Based on our experience running similar services across the North East, we anticipate that residents will barely notice the service is there. These services do not usually attract anti-social behaviour.
“There will be no signage and no impact on parking. Trained staff will be on site around the clock, and in our experience services like this one quickly become simply part of the neighbourhood.
"Behind this proposal are real people from this area who need a safe place to live. We are proud to be able to provide that, and we are committed to doing it in a way that works for everyone in Simonside."