Help support the legal challenge to the planning decision for a major housing development on the South Tyneside College land:

Environmental damage - loss of biodiversity and wildlife habitats.

143 mature healthy trees to be felled – and the loss of playing fields for the housing on the South Tyneside College land development.

We understand the need for housing but if the South Tyneside College land is developed, it needs to incorporate the existing mature trees, biodiversity, and wildlife habitats in its plans – the current proposal DOES NOT DO THIS!

On the 18th of December 2023 planning was granted by South Tyneside Council for AVANT Homes to build 260 houses on the South Tyneside College land at Westoe, South Shields ST/0676/23/FUL, South Tyneside College, St Georges Avenue, South Shields.

• Over 143 mature and historic trees will be felled which is in conflict to local and national policies for Net Zero.

• Existing Bat foraging grounds (potentially roosting) will be lost and will endanger the species (36,513 records of BAT activity on the site location).

• The South Tyneside College land is a tranquil area which is predominately green and supports various wildlife, this will be lost forever, to be replaced by high density bricks and mortar.

• 18 bird species have been recorded on the existing college site accumulating 107 pairs including protected birds that were nesting.

• This major development is directly bordering the historic Westoe Village, which is a registered Conservation Area, yet the housing development proposed is unsympathetic to the area.

During the Planning Committee on the 18th of December as previously mentioned, we had a Labour Councillor (with voting rights), who slept through the meeting and could not have given due consideration to the proposal at hand, further to this there have been complaints of potential predetermination by a Labour Councillor on the planning proposal, and procedurally a request for deferral was ignored.

On this basis we are working as an action group and have engaged a Barrister to represent us in challenging the soundness of the planning decision made on the 18th of December. Our barrister will negotiate with South Tyneside Council to have the planning proposal reheard. If this application is not successful, a further application for a Judicial Review will be sought on the grounds of the aforementioned concerns.

This action is supported by the following groups:

South Tyneside Environmental Protection - STEP

https://www.facebook.com/Tynestep

South Tyneside Tree Action Group - STTAG

https://www.facebook.com/groups/997688837050672

Westoe Ward Updates

https://www.facebook.com/westoeward

• Absolutely no social housing will be available with this housing development because it has been presented as an “Enabling Development”, which allows it to avoid the local policy for providing social housing.

• The existing playing fields on the South Tyneside College land will be compensated for in other areas, lost to the direct locality forever.

Simply there was very little support to this unsympathetic proposal. Over 5,300 people signed a petition to ask the developers to think again on a proposal that would be sympathetic to the local ecology, and almost 200 objections were made to the proposal, objections came from residents, various Councillors, and the MP for South Shields.

When planning permission was considered at South Tyneside Council in December, the council chamber was full, many councillors and residents spoke AGAINST the proposal, but when it came to the vote, it was passed by 7 votes to 5, all opposition councillors voted against, yet the ruling Labour Group voted it through (despite one Labour Councillor with voting rights sleeping through most of the 4-hour Planning Committee).

Ultimately its accepted that the relocation of South Tyneside College may be necessary but many councillors, the MP, and residents including those living directly at the location would like to see a more sympathetic proposal, that keeps the character of the area and protects our trees and the local ecology.

During the Planning Committee on the 18th of December as previously mentioned, we had a Labour Councillor (with voting rights), who slept through the meeting and could not have given due consideration to the proposal at hand, further to this there have been complaints of potential predetermination by a Labour Councillor on the planning proposal, and procedurally a request for deferral was ignored.

On this basis we are working as an action group and have engaged a Barrister to represent us in challenging the soundness of the planning decision made on the 18th of December. Our barrister will negotiate with South Tyneside Council to have the planning proposal reheard. If this application is not successful, a further application for a Judicial Review will be sought on the grounds of the aforementioned concerns.

South Tyneside Tree Action Group - STTAG

https://www.facebook.com/groups/997688837050672

Westoe Ward Updates

https://www.facebook.com/westoeward

I think everyone knows this type of legal action is expensive, this petition today is to support the legal action mentioned, and to ask for donations to support the action.

Because of the complexities of these types of legal challenges we have listed two charities below, these charities would receive any funds that are returned to us:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/ _

Pawzforthought animal rescue and re-homing and rehabilitation: