On 4 March 2025 the Council announced that the Minister of State for Housing and Planning had issued a notice directing that South Tyneside Council must submit the existing draft Local Plan for examination in public. The Secretary of State has appointed Inspector David Spencer BA(Hons) DipTP MRTPI to undertake an independent examination of the South Tyneside Local Plan 2023 – 2040. The first set of examination hearings will commence on 8 July 2025.
Members of the Forum Executive expect to speak at the examination as the Inspector has already provided a document outlining Matters, Issues and Questions to be resolved during Stage 1. These include questions around Housing Need, Spatial Strategy and the approach to the Green Belt and Site Selection. Whilst the examination covers the whole of the borough it includes the land at North Farm, East Boldon which is within the Forum’s boundary. The Forum Executive are currently working on responses to the issues which affect the Forum.
Stage 1 examination hearings for the will commence on Tuesday 8th July 2025 at 10:00am, at the Clarion Hotel, Newcastle South, Boldon Business Park, Witney Way, East Boldon NE35 9PE. Full details have been published on the Council’s Local Plan examination webpage: https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/24174/Local-Plan-examination . The hearings are open to the public to attend as observers but seating is limited will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. The hearings will also be live streamed online. The hearing sessions for the Examination will normally run from 10.00am to 1.00pm and 2.00pm to 5.00pm.
Stage 1 will consider matters of legal compliance, the amounts of development being planned for, the overarching strategy, the strategic approach to Green Belt and those proposed allocations for development that would require the Green Belt boundary to be altered.
Stage 2 hearings (currently planned for October 2025 but subject to change) will then consider site allocations in the main urban area (South Shields, Jarrow, Port of Tyne & Hebburn). It will also consider those strategic policies not dealt with at Stage 1, the various development management policies, matters relating to minerals and waste, as well as plan-wide viability and monitoring.
The Inspector has also issued a set of Guidance Notes for Participants and a Draft Programme for the Stage 1 hearings.
If you live or work in the East Boldon Forum area then you are welcome to join the Forum. Please get in touch with us.
If you wish to contact us for any reason please leave your details on the Contact Us page.