You may have heard that the cabinet has rejected the South Tyneside Local Plan. The draft of this plan proposed to build houses on the Lodge and the horses’ field, but we were were successful in having other Green Belt sites removed, including the Charley Hurley Field and Wellands Lane field. We are asking the council what their next steps will be. New government proposals to revise national planning policy (the NPPF: National Planning Policy Framework) could require the council to plan for 131% more homes than before. Drastically increased housing targets they will have to meet! They will be forced to review Green Belt land, and will likely have to allocate more Green Belt sites for housing, even sites that are of high quality. If the current Local Plan isn’t approved soon, and the NPPF proposals go ahead, the council will need to restart the whole local plan again. It's very likely that previously removed sites like Charley Hurley and Wellands Lane will come back into consideration. This would bring us back to where we were a few years ago, but without a lot less chance of stopping development on Green Belt in Whitburn. Building houses on these sites would have significant negative impacts on the village and environment. The Forum is responding to the government’s consultation and encourages you to do the same. The deadline for responses is 24 September. Also reach out to your councillors and MP with your concerns. You can find all the information below.
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