South Tyneside blueprint for development rejected

A draft Local Plan for South Tyneside has been rejected by elected members.

The blueprint for future development was not endorsed at a meeting of Borough Council after receiving 23 votes in favour of the Plan and a majority of 27 votes against.

All local authorities must have a valid Local Plan that sets out where future housing, employment and other development, with the appropriate infrastructure such as schools and health facilities, will take place over a period of at least 15 years. 

Last December, the Government published a new National Planning Policy Framework, and under this, the Standard Method for calculating housing need changed.

This means that the Council must now plan to build at least 623 new homes in the borough every year. The Local Plan which was proposed sought to allocate land for 309 units annually.

The Council will now have to begin work on a revised Plan compliant with new planning policy and the much higher housing target. This Plan will need to be submitted to the Secretary of State by December 2026.

Cllr Margaret Meling, Lead Member for Economic Growth and Transport, said: "We are naturally very disappointed that the draft Plan did not gain approval.

"It has been subject to significant public consultation and is the product of extensive work to compile an evidence base over several years.

"Any revised plan will need to be compliant with the new NPPF, and that means the much higher housing target of at least 623 homes a year.

"We now have an acute housing shortfall which puts us in a much weaker position when it comes to refusing inappropriate development proposals and there is a risk that government could intervene.

"However, our focus must now be to move forward as quickly as possible."

Preparing a plan for submission before December 2026 will involve two rounds of public consultation.