 In February 2025, the Council voted against submitting its draft Local Plan for examination for the second time (the first time was in 2024). This decision was influenced by concerns over proposed developments, including plans to build 1,200 homes on green belt land in Fellgate. Whitburn Neighbourhood Forum had outstanding concerns regarding the impact of development in Whitburn and surrounding areas on sewage pollution in the North Sea, in addition to impacts on green infrastructure and the environment. The Forum also disagreed with the high level of proposed housing targets.
Following the Council's decision, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Matthew Pennycook, intervened. He issued a direction mandating the Council to submit the existing draft Local Plan for examination by 12 March 2025. The reason for the intervention was based on the fact that South Tyneside's current Local Plan, adopted in June 2007, was significantly outdated, and the Council's repeated failure to progress a new plan left the area vulnerable to speculative development. The public examination of the draft Local Plan is scheduled to commence in July 2025. An independent Planning Inspector will assess the plan's legal compliance and soundness, considering factors such as housing and employment needs, spatial strategy, and the distribution of development. Whitburn Neighbourhood Forum intends to participate in this to re-iterate our concerns that no measures have been taken to prevent further sewage pollution, which will worsen if more houses are added to the sewage system. Sewage pollution was the reason that recently two planning applications for development in Whitburn and Boldon were rejected by the planning committee. Looking ahead, if the current plan is adopted, South Tyneside Council will need to immediately begin preparing a new Local Plan to align with the updated National Planning Policy Framework and its higher housing targets. The current draft Local Plan aims to deliver 309 homes per year. However, changes to the standard method for calculating housing need under the new NPPF increased South Tyneside's annual housing requirement to 623 homes. For more information on the Local Plan and its examination process, please visit the South Tyneside Council's Local Plan webpages.
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