North Tyneside Local Plan

The consultation for the first stage of North Tyneside Council’s new Local Plan ran August to October. The detail comes later with the next phase opening in December 2025. : https://haveyoursay.northtyneside.gov.uk/hub-page/the-local-plan

In our view the most important document in this first consultation is the document Meeting North Tyneside’s housing needs which is part of the section The strategy for sustainable growth in North Tyneside.

The big challenge is set out as that the plan “must establish how and where nationally set housing need and other types of development can be built. North Tyneside’s Local Housing Need is 989 homes per year. This is significantly more homes than is being built at the moment.”

If you have strong views on where we should or shouldn’t build new homes, plus what infrastructure (e.g. Metro lines and Stations, roads, Bus routes) would be required to make sure that the impact of this on our lives is minimised, then make sure you respond to the consultation.

One thing to keep in mind is whether you love or loathe the pattern of development adopted in North Tyneside in the past, one good thing that our borough has managed to achieve is to keep an up-to-date plan in place. Without a plan local areas can experience a loss control of what planning applications may come forward. Housing targets set by central government will dictate that development happens, even if we haven’t said where we want it to happen.

How will this affect Tynemouth?

In the plan consultation you will see a “Call for sites” section which has a proposals map. In Tynemouth Ward nearly everything on there is sites that the landowner Northumberland Estates (The Duke) has put forward in the past unsuccessfully. Don’t get alarmed if you see this, it’s just part of the process. Anyone can submit land to the plan process for consideration, this doesn’t mean anything will happen.

One thing to consider if responding to the consultation is that Tynemouth itself is a very good model for how a nice mixed residential area should be. Most of us are lucky enough to live within walking distance of Metro or good bus services, we have a lot of green space and sports facilities on hand. Tynemouth is a great place to live and work. A lot of us have a good local shop within walking distance of home, that doesn’t happen by accident. Maybe new housing areas should be a bit more like the place we live?

It’s no coincidence that the consultation has a picture of Tynemouth on it, but that doesn’t mean that the plan will have many direct impacts on our area. Most of the impact of previous local plans on Tynemouth residents have been indirect with new infrastructure, homes and employment sites being built elsewhere. That’s not to say that those changes don’t have big impact on us, so it’s well worth taking the time to respond to the consultation.

Another aspect of the plan relevant to Tynemouth is how we conserve what we have, be it beaches, nature or open space.

What influence can local Councillors like us have?

As local Councillors we may choose to put in a response to the consultations based on what we believe is in the best interests of our residents, in particular those who are less likely to respond themselves. But the process is really designed for you to contribute yourself directly. If you want to tell us what you think that’s great, but we will always encourage you to submit your own response.

Most responsible local Councillors will at the end of the process vote for the adoption of a local plan. This is because the alternative of not having an up-to-date plan in place is so poor. That’s the slightly harsh reality of how this process works.

We will look at this process critically, stand up for the interests of our residents and do our best to help you navigate the consultations.

If you want to influence what happens in North Tyneside then it’s much better than you get involved early vs. coming to us at the end of the process.

Although we can do our best to help, the experts on the local plan process are in the Council’s Planning Team, you can contact them directly at planning.policy@northtyneside.gov.uk or telephone 0191 643 2310.