March 2025
March has been a really exciting month, with us reaching some major milestones in our big investment schemes.
We are targeting support to make things fairer, delivering a range of projects that will support those who need our help the most as well as boosting growth and opportunities for our younger people. That means taking the limited money and resources we have available and making sure they are used for the things that will make the biggest impact and reduce inequalities in our borough.
We've now paid out £200 to 419 pensioners just above the Pension Credit threshold who are on a low income but not eligible for Pension Credit and Winter Fuel Allowance but who may be struggling with rising energy prices and the cost of living.
We've also expanded our financial support to schools to give £2,500 to each secondary school, in addition to primary schools who were given it earlier this year. Schools can use this funding - at their discretion - to provide a free school meal to children of families that are struggling financially, but do not meet the Free School Meals eligibility criteria.
This kind of support, reducing the cost of the school day for families, is just one of the strands of work in the Child Poverty Strategy launched this month, the first of its kind in the North East.
We know that almost a third of young people in South Tyneside are living in poverty and the impact of that can be linked to low birth weight in babies, poor physical and mental health and much more. Our Child Poverty Strategy directly tackles those burning issues.
Most of the levers to action real change are still in the control of central government and we hope that this strategy will directly influence the work of the national Child Poverty Taskforce in developing its National Child Poverty Strategy due to be published later this year.
In Hebburn, we've completed a multi-million-pound specialist accommodation development to support people with learning disabilities, autism and complex care needs to live more independently.
This is one of two supported housing developments we are currently delivering in partnership with Karbon Homes to address the lack of supported housing options in the borough. A second scheme at Concorde Way in Jarrow will shortly be complete and welcoming its first tenants too.
Plans are in for a further 124 one and two-bed apartments on the corner of Galsworthy Road and Benton Road, South Shields. These are designed to help people with differing levels of care and support needs to live well and independently similar to the scheme in Hebburn town centre, which started on site at the end of last year.
We've started on site to deliver another 29 council homes council homes for social rent. 17 ultra energy-efficient houses in Reynolds Avenue, South Shields, will be the first in the borough designed, built, and certified to the international 'Passivhaus Standard', helping to slash energy use and minimise carbon emissions.
Passivhaus buildings are so well constructed, insulated, and ventilated that they retain heat and maintain an almost constant temperature, requiring very little additional heating or cooling.
A further 12 council homes will be built at Lizard Lane, Marsden. These two- and three-bedroomed apartments will be A rated for energy consumption and will use energy efficiency measures including solar panels, thermal store, and battery storage. They will all have electric vehicle charging points, parking, and a back garden.
We are really proud not only to be building council houses in the borough, but to be building them to such a high environmental standard.
I was also delighted to be invited to be a Co-President of UK100, a cross-party network spearheading the transition to Net Zero. The role will provide the opportunity to advocate for the robust policies along with financial support and investment that we so desperately need from Government to enable us to deliver on our climate change ambitions.
In South Shields, I'm also absolutely delighted to say that the North East Combined Authority have agreed £18.2 million towards the relocation of South Tyneside College and world-renowned South Shields Marine School. This is the final piece of the funding jigsaw, which means the next step will be work getting underway later this year, with a view to the new college being ready to welcome students in the 2027 September intake.
The college will move from its current Westoe site into the heart of the town centre, with a state-of-the-art 14,000 sqm campus, close to South Shields Interchange, bringing thousands of students and staff into the town centre every day.
Our regeneration ambitions are focused on diversifying the town centre so that it is not solely reliant on retail. This development is going to bring in thousands of additional people, boosting footfall and delivering a new sense of vitality.
The NECA funding is in addition to £20m of government regeneration funding awarded to South Tyneside Council to revitalise South Shields town centre and riverside, and £21.9 million to Tyne Coast College from the Department for Education's FE Capital Transformation Fund.
In Jarrow we've kicked off a 12-week community engagement with anyone living, working or at school in the NE32 postcode being asked for their views of the town and their ideas of what they would like to see in the future. The consultation will inform how the £20m we received through Plan for Neighbourhoods fund will be spent. This is a stepping stone to long-term change for Jarrow and we hope it will attract further investment to the area so please take the time to have your say.
You may be also aware that the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) intervened in the Borough's Local Plan , directing that the Council must submit the existing draft Local Plan for examination in public. The plan has been submitted, and we'll keep you updated on next steps.
Councillor Tracey Dixon
Leader of South Tyneside Council