February 10, 2020
Sport England, who sit within the Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, have become the latest organisation to object to the South Tyneside Council Draft Local Plan, citing conflict with the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which seeks to protect existing open space, sports and recreational buildings and land, from being built upon.
Sport England’s objection highlights that the Council’s Draft Local Plan proposes to build on 7 existing playing fields resulting in the loss of over 26 hectares of playing fields to provide 984 houses. With a typical football pitch being around 0.7 hectares, this equates to land for around 37 football pitches. The figures could be higher still with a number of other proposed housing sites in the draft Plan also potentially constituting playing fields, but not identified in Sport England’s objection.
This news comes despite the Council’s own Playing Pitch Strategy, a key part of the evidence base, highlighting that there are already sizeable shortfalls in playing fields in the Borough which are expected to worsen in the future. As a result, the earlier document actually recommends that the playing fields now proposed by the Draft Local Plan to be built on for housing, should rather be protected.
Sport England have also voiced objection that the Council’s Draft Local Plan does not meet the requirements of the NPPF in terms of how these playing fields may be re-provided in a way which meets the requirements of policy. Unless this can be done, Sport England’s objection states that it will not be possible for the Council to show that these sites are deliverable for housing, which is a fundamental requirement of the Plan.
Edward Yuill, Managing Director of Cecil M Yuill Ltd, a partner in Laverick Hall Farm Ltd, which has submitted an alternative, ambitious plan for a £692m Garden Community of 3,000 new homes, 3 new primary schools, a 60 bed care home, shops, healthcare and other community facilities, commented, “I expect the news that the Draft Local Plan proposes the loss of over 26 hectares of playing fields for almost 1,000 homes will understandably be met with dismay and anger by the local sports clubs, teams and community members who use these facilities. It’s particularly puzzling as there seems to be no plan in place on how and where these may be re-provided. Sport England has quite correctly raised its objection to the Plan.”
Mr Yuill continued, “This is a serious matter because at present a significant proportion of the Draft Local Plan’s housing allocations are simply not deliverable. These are fundamental matters of soundness for the Plan. We have formally provided our own response to the Draft Local Plan, which highlighted the same objections now raised by Sport England and will be watching this matter closely.”
“In addition to building housing on playing fields, the Council’s Draft Local Plan also proposes draft housing allocations on sites currently used as open space, some of which the Council’s own Open Space Assessment catagorises as ‘high value’. Again there is no strategy in place on how this open space may be re-provided.”
“Our proposal at Laverick Park alleviates the need for such destruction of playing fields, indeed we are proposing over 85 hectares of green infrastructure and 5 hectares of NEW playing fields.”
The Laverick Park Garden Community development, situated to the south of Fellgate in South Tyneside and bounded by three existing strategic arterial roads (the A184, A19 and A194), proposes a 20 year construction scheme which could create 320 construction jobs every year in addition to 720 permanent on site and off site.
Edward Yuill continued, “Laverick Park Garden Community is one of the most exciting and ambitious projects in the North East Region and would be a landmark development for South Tyneside. It would create a totally self-sustaining new community, built around creating three new villages, all set within outstanding green spaces, parkland and landscaping which follows Garden Village Principles. The scheme represents cutting-edge thinking on sustainable development and would deliver considerable socio-economic benefits to South Tyneside.”
The Laverick Park Garden Community development, to be built over 20 years, follows Garden Village Principles and essentially proposes three new villages, each with its own supporting services and facilities, connected to each other but contained within a highly defined site and the defensible boundaries of major infrastructure. The villages will contain a wide variety of homes designed for different ages including 600 affordable homes, all of which will be built to high quality design standards and surrounded by a diverse landscape featuring extensive walking and cycling routes and links via new public transport to the nearby Fellgate Metro Station.
Crucially, the development is also close to the new International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) which is expected to deliver 5,200 jobs by 2027 and an additional 3,700 jobs by 2031 all of whom will be looking for housing stock nearby.
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