About the Local Plan
Use of green belt and previously developed (brownfield) land
Development of the green belt
Urban, and previously used land (commonly known as brownfield land), will always be prioritised when looking at places for development.
Sometimes however this is not possible.
For example, in South Tyneside the local housing need is higher than the amount of urban and brownfield land that is actually available.
Therefore, the Local Plan does propose that some green belt land is used for development, potentially for new homes or employment opportunities.
In order to meet the borough's housing and employment needs it is considered that exceptional circumstances exist to justify the release of land from the green belt.
The total area of green belt land in the borough is 2,344 hectares. Of this, the new Local Plan proposes 117 hectares could potentially be developed.
National policy requires the Local Plan to set out ways to offset the impact of removing land from the green belt.
Compensatory measures include improvements to the environmental quality and accessibility of remaining green belt land.
Detailed recommendations have been drawn up for the sites that have been identified for future development in the green belt.
The Local Plan also sets out how it proposes to protect the remaining green belt.
The efficient use of land
The Plan is committed to making the best and most efficient use of land by encouraging the redevelopment of previously developed land and buildings.
This includes supporting regeneration schemes in South Shields Town Centre and allocating brownfield sites for employment and residential development across the borough.
The Plan aims to achieve higher densities in the most sustainable locations with good access to services and public transport.
It also makes an allowance for new sites to come forward unexpectedly in the future.
Use of brownfield land
A brownfield site is an area that has been built on before and tends to be disused or derelict land.
The Council tries to prioritise using this type of land for new developments. For example, more than 1,700 homes are planned for brownfield land.
However, not all brownfield land in the borough is suitable or available for development, which may mean that green belt land needs to be used.
Some brownfield sites are in unsuitable locations for residential development. For example, the site could be in the middle of an industrial estate, or the site may be privately owned and there is no guarantee that the owner intends to sell or develop the site.
The Council are required by government to be able to provide, with a high degree of certainty, enough housing for the first 5 years of the Local Plan.
Many brownfield sites would unfortunately not be available within this time frame. This is because infrastructure needs to be put in place, or the land needs to be decontaminated.
A Site Selection Topic Paper has been produced which identifies different sites and describes their suitability for development.