Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2024

South Tyneside Spatial Planning team contact details

Email:

Local.Plan@southtyneside.gov.uk

Telephone:

(0191) 424 7594

Post:

Spatial Planning,
Development Services,
Economic Regeneration,
South Tyneside Council,
Town Hall and Civic Offices,
Westoe Road, South Shields,
Tyne & Wear,
NE33 2RL

The purpose of the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) is to assess what current infrastructure there is in the borough, what is being planned with committed investment and what will be needed in the future.

The draft Local Plan 2023 - 2040 sets out the policies and allocations to meet the borough’s development needs to 2040. The IDP identifies the infrastructure required to support the delivery of the Local Plan.

The IDP benefits from the contributions made by a wide range of key stakeholders. In addition to supporting the Local Plan it also meets the South Tyneside Vision 2023 - 2043 and the South Tyneside Council Strategy 2023 - 2026.

The IDP will be updated as appropriate to take account of changes to and progress with specific development schemes or projects. It deals primarily with public sector-related infrastructure and / or land under public ownership. All sites, including references, correspond to the emerging Local Plan’s site allocations.

Creating prosperous and sustainable communities can only be done if the necessary physical, social and green infrastructure is in place. Infrastructure delivery planning is fundamentally about identifying the future infrastructure investment needs of the borough to support the delivery of development within the emerging Local Plan. It involves partners in the borough working collaboratively so that the planning and delivery of infrastructure is joined-up.

The IDP is a crucial tool for helping to identify funding priorities and gaps by making the best use of what we already have and using available funding for investment within local communities in the most effective way.

The IDP is divided into two broad sections:

• Overview - This section presents a descriptive overview organised thematically. Each thematic areas sets out existing provision and capacity pressures likely to result or be exacerbated by delivery of the Local Plan and priorities for investment.
• Infrastructure Delivery Schedule - Appendix 2 provides a detailed breakdown of the items of infrastructure needed to deliver the Local Plan including the estimated timeframe for delivery, possible funding sources and whether the item is essential or desirable in the context of the policies and allocations in the Local Plan. The IDP is a ‘living’ document and will be kept under review and updated when appropriate.

The Local Plan sets out the development strategy for the borough up to 2040 including the scale and distribution of growth proposed for housing and economic development. The IDP shows how the Council is working with stakeholders to ensure that the projected levels of growth can be accommodated. This is particularly relevant in the context of transport planning and planning for school places. The majority of economic development allocations are already in employment use and should not result in significant new traffic generation.

National Policy Context

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)states that achieving sustainable development means that the planning system has three overarching objectives - economic, social and environmental. ‘Identifying and coordinating the provision of infrastructure’ is identified as pursuant to the economic objective (NPPF Paragraph 8). The NPPF make clear that infrastructure provision is also essential to the delivery of the social and environmental objectives, for example the provision of community facilities and green infrastructure. The NPPF also states that that ‘strategic policies should set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and quality of development, and make provision for:

• Housing (including affordable housing), employment, retail, leisure and other commercial development;
• Infrastructure for transport, telecommunications, security, waste management, water supply, wastewater, flood risk and coastal change management, and the provision of minerals and energy (including heat);
• Community facilities (such as health, education and cultural infrastructure); and
• Conservation and enhancement of the natural, built and historic environment, including landscapes and green infrastructure, and planning measures to address climate change mitigation and adaption (NPPF Paragraph 20).

Regional Context

North East Combined Authority

The North East Combined Authority (NECA) was created in 2014 and consisted of Durham; Gateshead; Newcastle; North Tyneside; Northumberland; South Tyneside and Sunderland.

On the 2nd of November 2018, the Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland Combined Authority (Establishment and Functions) Order 2018 changed the boundaries of NECA. As a result of these governance changes the boundaries of NECA now cover the Local Authorities of Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside, and Sunderland.

There is also now a North of Tyne Combined Authority which comprises the local authorities of Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland.

NECA is not a statutory planning body. It is a legal body that provides a strategic co-ordinating framework to assist local authorities with common objectives such achieving the delivery of transport infrastructure and attracting inward investment. To deliver this NECA has the following three portfolios:

• Transport
• Employability and Inclusion
• Economic Development and Regeneration

North East Mayoral Combined Authority

The North East Mayoral Combined Authority (NEMCA) is a planned mayoral combined authority area in the North East of England. It will cover the administrative boundaries of Northumberland, County Durham and the Tyne and Wear authorities. It will consist of eight members: the directly elected Mayor for the North East and an appointed representative from the seven constituent councils of the combined authority area.

North East Local Enterprise Partnership

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP) is a public, private, and education sector partnership that covers the same geographical area as the North East Combined Authority and the North of Tyne Combined Authority. The NECA provides the formal accountability arrangements for the NELEP. The NELEP has an important role in promoting local economic development and a strong environment for business growth.

North East Strategic Economic Plan

The LEP has worked with its partners to produce the North East Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) (2019). The SEP is the principle strategic economic policy document for the North East. It sets out an industrial strategy for the region; a blueprint for intervention and investment to ensure the North East delivers more for the UK economy and for all who live, learn and do business here. South Tyneside Council is a key partner in the delivery of the SEP and we will continue to work with our partners across the north east, pan-regionally and nationally. The SEP has identified four business opportunity areas that provide huge potential to generate jobs within the North East economy. These are:

• Digital
• Advanced manufacturing
• Health and life sciences
• Subsea, offshore and energy technologies

North East Transport Plan 2021 - 2035

This is the first region-wide Transport Plan for the seven local authority areas in the North East and sets out the transport priorities up to 2035. The North East Transport Plan vision is: ‘Moving to a green, healthy, dynamic and thriving North East’. The objectives of the Transport Plan are:

• Carbon-neutral transport
• Overcome inequality and grow our economy
• Healthier North East
• Appealing sustainable transport choices
• Safe, secure network.

It sets out a delivery plan to achieve the vision and objectives, which ranges from shovel-ready schemes to those beyond 10 years.

Local Context

The South Tyneside Vision 2023 - 2043 and Council Strategy 2023 - 2026

The South Tyneside 20-year vision (2023 - 2043) is ‘Our South Tyneside – A place where people live healthy, happy, and fulfilled lives’. The Vision is based on five core 'Ambitions.' These are for residents in South Tyneside to be:

• financially secure;
• healthy and well throughout their lives;
• connected to jobs, skills, and learning;
• part of strong communities;
• targeted support to make things fairer.

For each of the five ambitions, the council have identified clear priorities and detailed action plans to guide delivery over the next three years (The Council Strategy 2023 - 2026), working with residents and partners.

Duty to Co-operate

Integral to the process of producing the Local Plan has been regular engagement with neighbouring local authorities and other key partners to ensure a collaborative approach to key strategic planning matters. Two key regional groups are:

• The North East Heads of Planning Group – this consists of Heads of Planning from the LA7 group of north east local authorities. It meets quarterly to discuss high-level cross boundary issues and share strategic and procedural best practice.
• Heads of Planning Policy Group – the heads of planning policy across the north east region meet quarterly to focus on and consider cross-boundary strategic issues associated with plan preparation and implementation, including infrastructure requirements.

A separate paper ‘The Duty to Co-operate Statement’ details the governance arrangements and how we will continue to work with key partners to address strategic infrastructure delivery issues.

Collaborative Working

The preparation of this IDP has involved extensive collaborative working, both within South Tyneside Council (STC) and with external stakeholders.

STC internal partners have included:

• Highways and Transport
• Strategic Projects
• School Places
• Environmental Protection
• Public Health
• Greenspace and Countryside
• Community and Leisure

External stakeholders have included:

• National Highways
• NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board
• Northumbrian Water
• Northern Powergrid
• Northern Gas Networks
• Virgin Media
• City Fibre
• BT Open Reach

Funding and Delivery

Identifying how infrastructure can be funded and delivered when required is a key part of planning for infrastructure. The collaborative working referred to above, with infrastructure and service providers, has assisted in determining funding available through their investment plans and also understanding the inter-relationship of different projects.

The IDP is an iterative and ‘live’ document and this is particularly relevant in the context of infrastructure funding as different sources and amounts of funding can become available over the plan period and some projects may require a complex mix of funding streams. Some funding streams will only be confirmed at a later date and some are subject to funding bids. It is important to explore the range of funding opportunities and this section sets out some of the sources of available funding.

South Tyneside Council’s Capital Programme

The Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan 2023-2028 outlines our approach to setting our financial future. It also sets out the Council’s budget for 2023 / 2024.

Developer Contributions

A planning obligation made under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 may require the developer to contribute to infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of a development proposal. This is an existing mechanism to secure contributions towards infrastructure delivery.

A Section 106 agreement is negotiated at the point of the planning application and becomes a legal agreement between the Council and the developer. Contributions are subject to the conditions set out in the legal agreement. Any contribution must meet all of the following statutory tests:

1. Necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms;
2. Directly related to the development; and
3. Fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development.

Section 278 Agreement

A Section 278 agreement is a section of the Highways Act 1980 that allows developers to enter into a legal agreement with the council to make alterations or improvements to a public highway, as part of a planning application. The use of Section 278 agreements will continue to be an important mechanism for the delivery of local highway infrastructure.

The Infrastructure Funding Levy

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill intends to replace the current system of securing developer contributions (through section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy) with a new Infrastructure Levy. The rates and thresholds will be set contained in ‘charging schedules' and set and raised by local planning authorities (rather than nationally), meaning that rates are tailored to local circumstances and deliver at least as much onsite affordable housing. Charging schedules must have regard to previous levels of affordable housing funded by developer contributions such that they are kept at a level that will exceed or maintain previous levels. All schedules will be subject to public examination. There will also be a process to require developers to deliver some forms of infrastructure that are integral to the design and delivery of a site.

Although this system in not in place at the time of writing, should it be introduced over the plan period, the council and the IDP will be responsive to the requirements of the new system.

Potential sources of external capital funding

Potential sources of capital funding are not static and will vary over time. Listed below are sources during the 2023 / 2024 financial year:

• LEP – Enterprise Zone Business Rate Growth Income
• Levelling Up Fund
• BEIS – Heat Network Development Fund
• Department for Transport
• Transforming Cities Fund
• Centaurea Homes
• Disabled Facilities Grant
• Active Travel Funding
• DfE School Condition Grant
• DLUHC Future High Streets Fund
• European Regional Development Fund
• Devolved Formula Capital
• DfE High Needs Provision
• National Highways
• St Aloysius School

Monitoring and Review

There are a wide range of factors which influence infrastructure projects and priorities. Monitoring and updating will therefore be necessary. The IDP reflects the plans and programmes of work of stakeholders and infrastructure providers which will be reviewed and may change over time. New plans and projects are also likely to emerge, which will be relevant for inclusion. In this regard it is considered appropriate to review the IDP routinely to ensure it is up to date.

Overview

Transport is an important part of everyday life that ensures people or goods are moved safely and efficiently. South Tyneside has adequate transport links to the rest of the North East with the A19 Trunk Road passing through the borough, the Metro, Shields Ferry and buses servicing most of Sunderland.

South Tyneside has good transport links to the rest of the North East region, as well as further afield, with access to the strategic road network (A19 and A194M) Strategic Road Network, along with an accessible public transport network through the Metro network (light rail system), Shields Ferry and local buses servicing most of the borough. Further to this, South Tyneside has the appropriate sustainable transport links and has access to the National Cycling Network.

The road network within South Tyneside is made up of a hierarchy of routes, with the strategic highway network being maintained by National Highways, and the local highway network being maintained by South Tyneside. In South Tyneside, National Highways is responsible for the A19, A184 and A194(M).

Nexus is the Passenger Transport Executive for Tyne and Wear, which is responsible for coordinating public transport in South Tyneside and the rest of Tyne and Wear region including:

• Operating the Tyne and Wear Metro.
• Coordinating local bus services.
• Operating the Shields Ferry.
• Maintaining bus stops and most bus stations.
• Providing public transport information; and
• Administrating the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ECNTS).

Regionally, the policy direction for transport is outlined by the North East Joint Transport Committee (NEJTC). The committee brings together the region’s two Combined Authorities (North of Tyne Combined Authority covering Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland), and the (North East Combined Authority covering Durham, Gateshead, Sunderland and South Tyneside) which have transport powers for the region.

The committee took over the functions of the previous Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority, including the promotion of sustainable transport. Transport is hugely important to the North East and the collaborative working of both Combined Authorities through the Transport North East regional team allows swift decision making, ensuring our local needs and transport priorities are delivered.

The North East Transport Plan sets out the transport priorities up to 2035 in the region. The Plan provides the strategic framework to enable an improved, more seamless, coordinated, and integrated transport system across the region. The Transport Plan vision is 'Moving to a green, healthy, dynamic and thriving North East' and is supported by the following objectives: -

• Carbon Neutral North East.
• Overcome inequality and grow the Economy.
• Healthier North East.
• Appealing Sustainable Transport Choices.
• Safe and Secure Network.

This IDP and the accompanying schedule is a working document that will be reviewed during the lifetime of the plan and therefore additional schemes may be added/removed. The defined scheme costs are for indicative purposes and a comprehensive cost estimate will be required during the detailed design process.

Also, the indicative phasing for scheme delivery is dependent on the quantum of development within the borough and therefore future applicants will be required to test the development impact on the junctions to identify when the defined infrastructure schemes are required.

Strategic Road Network

Current Provision

The strategic road network within South Tyneside consists of the A19 which connects South and North Tyneside (via the Tyne Tunnel) and with Sunderland. This road is managed by National Highways and is defined as a key strategic economic corridor connecting people to employment including the Port of Tyne and International Advanced Manufacturing Park. The corridor has a number of connections are at several key junctions and interchanges which are:

• A19 / A184 Testos Roundabout
• A19 / A185 - Southern Portal of Tyne Tunnel
• A19 / A194 – Lindisfarne Junction
• A19 / A1290 Downhill Lane

The A184 from the White Mare Pool (A184 / A194 / A194M) junction through to the Testo’s roundabout is also part of the strategic road network and managed by National Highways. This important link connects the A194 and the A19 and ultimately South Tyneside with Gateshead and Sunderland.

The Council holds regular meetings with National Highways in terms of managing and mitigating the potential impacts of proposed developments and allocations on the strategic road network and its key junctions.

Planned Provision and Funding

National Highways has recently constructed major improvements along the A19 corridor at Testo’s (A194 / A184) and Downhill Lane (A19 / A1290) junctions. This investment was part of the Route Investment Strategy and has alleviated congestion, improved air quality, and stimulated economic growth for South Tyneside Council. These improvements have been critical in ensuring a strategic corridor from the Nissan Manufacturing Plant to the Port of Tyne in South Tyneside.

The delivery of these major infrastructure schemes has improved access to the Nissan Manufacturing plant and the associated supply chain, the International Advanced Manufacturing Plant (IAMP) and to the wider North East region.

As part of the Local Plan process, National Highways has modelled the impact of the Local Plan development to 2040 and has established that the highway infrastructure is insufficient to accommodate the anticipated increase in traffic on the strategic road network (SRN). Therefore, the following additional schemes will be required to adequately mitigate the impact of the plan to 2040:

• Southbound A19 Lane Gain / Lane Drop between Southern Portal of Tyne Tunnel and Lindisfarne junctions.
• Major Scheme Improvements to A194(M) / A184 / White Mare Pool junction.

With respect to the proposed strategic housing allocation: Fellgate Sustainable Growth Area, the Council, working in partnership with National Highways, is also seeking to encourage modal transfer to active travel and public transport modes in order to minimise trip generation by the private car.

The Council and National Highways are working together to further develop a delivery plan for the implementation of these measures and any further schemes which may be required to mitigate the plan. Details of this will be included in a Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties.

Local Road Network

Current Provision

The majority of people within South Tyneside are reliant on access to road networks with the private car the predominant mode of transport. An efficient transport network is crucial to a functioning economy. A well functioned economy is supported through well developed and maintained transport assets where the performance of road links and junctions on key transport corridors, for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic matches the demand made upon them.

South Tyneside Council as Local Highway Authority is responsible for all associated highway infrastructure in terms of the management and maintenance. South Tyneside’s Highway Asset Management Plan sets out how the Council will maintain its highway assets, including roads, footpaths, bridges and structures. The Network Management Plan sets out how the Council will manage the efficient movement of traffic (including walking and cycling) on the network.

Planned Provision and Funding

The Council is working with both internal and external stakeholders to enhance the highway network to accommodate the Local Plan’s projected levels of future growth. It is anticipated that funding to deliver these schemes will come from a variety of external funding sources including the National Highways Road Investment Strategy (RIS) allocations, Levelling Up Funding, Transport for the North (TfN), Network North, Local Capital and Developer Contributions.

The Council has identified schemes on the Local Road Network as defined in the Schedule which will assist in reducing the impact on the SRN and redistributing traffic on the Local Road Network. It is important to reference that that any projected costs or phasing of schemes are for indicative purposes and that a proper cost estimate will be required during the detailed design process, with the phasing element dependent on the development.

Due to the significant impact that the Local Plan aspirations will have on the local and Strategic Road Network, an assessment has been carried out in order to assess the traffic impact and indicate the type, scale and nature of the highway improvements which are likely to be required to cater for this impact. This study provides a detailed evidence base demonstrating how the impact of future development on the highway network has been considered and could be addressed.

The infrastructure schedule at the end of this document gives the latest information on highways schemes drawn from South Tyneside Council sources and the North East Combined Authority through Transport North East.

Public Transport Network - Bus

Current Provision

Buses are the most common forms of public transport within South Tyneside. They provide a substantial network allowing residents to travel throughout the North East, as well as connecting local neighbourhoods to the Town Centre areas. Currently, the two main operators locally are Stagecoach and Go North East (GNE) which offer regular services.

Despite encouraging the use of buses, car ownership is increasing, and bus patronage is falling. Measures such as the North East Enhanced Bus Partnership and Bus Service Improvement Plan are seeking to increase patronage, by improving accessibility, frequency, speed and quality of services.

The extent and frequency of services are at the commercial discretion of the operator concerned. Where routes are deregistered because they are not commercially viable, Nexus may examine the viability of providing the services on a subsidised basis subject to increasingly difficult budgetary constraints. If the decision is taken to provide a subsidy, the service is tendered and the most appropriate bidder in terms of cost and quality is awarded a contract to operate the service.

The Council regularly communicates with local stakeholders, Nexus and Bus Operators through the Local Bus Board which is a corporate meeting held quarterly where issues are raised, and potential network improvements are discussed. This process ensures that local relationships between all local parties are established and cordial. Nevertheless, these relationships are measured against declining patronage in public transport services which must be addressed.

Further to this, the North East Joint Transport Committee has signed up to the North East Enhanced Bus Partnership which is where local transport authorities and bus operators agree a detailed partnership plan (a Bus Service Improvement Plan). It is considered that an enhanced bus network is key to achieving our aim of creating a green, healthy, dynamic and thriving North East.

Planned Provision and Funding

In developing the North East Enhanced Bus Partnership, the Council working collaboratively with the other local authorities, Nexus and the Local Bus Operators has defined a list of proposed infrastructure interventions through the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) that will improve the punctuality and reliability of local bus services. These can be found in the infrastructure schedule that accompanies this document.

For future developments it may be necessary to either divert existing bus services to serve new developments, or to provide new routes subject to the scale of the development. Developer contributions may be required to fund these additional and expanded services until there is sufficient patronage to provide a commercially viable service.

Public Transport Network – Metro and Rail Network

Current Provision

Network Rail is the owner and infrastructure manager of the National Rail Network in the UK. The local rail network in the North East region is surprisingly sparse in relation to population. This is for two reasons – the predominance of Metro on much of the former British Rail local rail network, and the long-distance, high-speed focus of the East Coast Main Line (ECML).

The Metro is a light rail system servicing passengers across the Tyne and Wear and is operated by Nexus, which originally opened in 1980.

There are the currently ten Metro Stations located within South Tyneside. These are primarily located on the Yellow Line which provides connections from South Tyneside via Newcastle City Centre and North Tyneside. A further three Metro stations are located on the Green line within the south; this route provides connections to Newcastle Airport and the city of Sunderland.

The expansion, integration and improvement of local rail and Metro services are a key part of regional transport plans both locally and regionally. Demand for these services remains high as a direct result of increased economic activity. To assist this, the Metro system provides unrestricted access to key urban areas.

Nexus is in the process of replacing the vehicle fleet, it is expected that the new fleet will become operational from 2024 / 2025 onwards. This will ensure that the fleet is future proofed for the next several decades. Asset renewal is also the responsibility of Nexus and continues as and when funds allow.

Nexus have advised that network renewals will be required, and a business case has been submitted to central government to obtain significant funding for the following key areas: civil engineering works; permanent way; signalling; level crossings; depot equipment; plant; mechanical and electrical; stations; power; capital maintenance; and ticketing and gating.

The borough does not have any heavy rail passenger services, however, this may change in future with the potential development of the Leamside Line. South Tyneside is a member of the North East Rail Management Unit (NERMU). Chaired and held by Transport North East, this group advises and provides input into local heavy rail services across the North East. This group contributes to the Transport for the North Rail strategy (Northern Powerhouse Rail) and plays a significant part in connecting the major northern cities including Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester with improved rail links.

Planned Provision and Funding

The Metro makes a significant contribution towards sustainable mobility across the borough and wider region. Nexus have undertaken significant research to determine what schemes would be appropriate in order to facilitate appropriate levels of growth for the Metro network. The schemes directly associated with the borough are summarised below.

New Metro station between Hebburn and Jarrow

Providing that the single-track operation between Bede and Pelaw is alleviated, the Council aspires for the provision of a new metro station at Mill Lane, Hebburn which will be to the benefit of new and future residents. The area is well situated to serve existing residential developments and future sites identified in the draft local plan.

Leamside Line Reopening

A long-standing aspiration of the North East region is the reopening of the Leamside Line. It is considered that reopening the line could alleviate capacity issues on the East Coast Mainline, and also offer improved accessibility locally as part of potential metro expansions. Nevertheless, there are significant associated costs with this scheme and the funding for which has yet to be addressed.

One of the key opportunities to the Leamside Line reopening for South Tyneside and neighbouring authorities would be the chance to extend a metro service from Heworth / Pelaw and link to the IAMP and other neighbouring development opportunities. Connecting these strategic employment sites to both heavy and light rail services would significantly improve the transportation options to these sites.

South Shields to Sunderland Metro Connectivity

South Tyneside is already well served by the Metro network towards Newcastle but direct links between the borough and the Sunderland require improvement. The South Shields and Sunderland Metro routes are within 3km of each other in the Tyne Dock and Brockley Whins area. Running between them is a single-track freight branch serving Port of Tyne from Boldon East and West Junctions, east of Brockley Whins. There is potential to use this existing alignment so Metro services can be provided between these locations.

At Boldon East Curve Junction, the Network Rail line towards Sunderland could be used to provide direct connectivity to South Shields, whilst the Boldon West Junction opens up the possibility of direct journeys between South Shields and potentially through any use of the Leamside Line to areas such as Follingsby Park, Washington and Durham Belmont, through the construction of a new spur heading west of Fellgate Metro.

South Tyneside is supportive of network upgrades that would mean improved service and local rail may be diverted onto regional lines, including the Leamside Line. The Council’s responses will be coordinated at a regional level with Transport North East and the North East Joint Transport Committee in particular and will be addressed through the Network North agenda.

Public Transport Network – Shields Ferry

Current Provision

The Shields Ferry service is run by Nexus (Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive) operating between South and North Shields. The service currently undergoes 25,000 trips each year carrying approximately 400,000 passengers.

The ferry service is currently operated using two vessels - the ‘Pride of Tyne’ (303 max passengers) and the ‘Spirit of the Tyne’ (200 max passengers). The Ferry Landing in South Tyneside is in close proximity to South Shields Town Centre and Public Transport Interchange, with regular bus links and provides an excellent sustainable transport connection.

Planned Provision and Funding

Nexus have devised a Ferry Strategy to ensure that the operation of the Shields Ferry is secured. This has advised that significant investment is required to continue with the existing operations.

In terms of the North Landing, there is a requirement to secure external investment to construct a new ferry landing close to the North Shields Fish Quay. Further to this, it is expected that continued investment in the vessels and South Shields Ferry Landing will be required over the plan period.

Active Travel

Current Provision

The Council is responsible for an extensive network of public rights of way and cycle lane provisions. Cycling levels have increased substantively across the borough and wider region. The social, health and environmental benefits are recognised and valued in the emerging Local Plan and Regional Transport Plan. Building upon the existing network of cycle routes, footpaths and bridleways, new provision is planned across the borough.

The Council seeks to deliver appropriate and beneficial network development by exercising consultation in the development of strategic network plans and in project design. Consultations are carried out with Elected Members, statutory consultees for highway changes, national representative bodies such as the British Horse Society (BHS), Cyclists Touring Club (CTC), and Sustrans, as well as the Tyne and Wear Local Access Forum and localised interest groups.

The borough benefits from multiple national network routes including National Cycle Network Route 1 and 72 and Regional Cycle Network 11 and 14, and the England coastal path National Trail. Network development is geared towards growth in cycle trips for work, education, retail and recreational journeys. The Grade II listed pedestrian and cycle Tyne Tunnel connects both banks of the River Tyne offering a seamless connection between North and South Tyneside.

Walking networks, by comparison are more established within the borough with over 810km of walking routes of all classifications available for use. These are typically managed by the Council's Highways Department through the Highway Asset Management Plan.

Planned Provision and Funding

Due to on-going downward pressure on budgets, it is not possible to set fixed timescales for infrastructure delivery, however network development has continued via external grants, agreements, and use of existing budgets, with delivery of significant new or improved network occurring on an annual basis. The Council hopes to secure network development budgets from external funding offered by central government through the submission of funding bids at the local authority and regional level.

The Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) for the borough will shape investment across the network within the South Tyneside for the next 15 years. The document also provides a comprehensive and active list of walking and cycling infrastructure improvements at both a local and wider strategic level which will be addressed throughout the life of the Local Plan.

The promotion of walking and cycling is an important aspect throughout the emerging Local Plan. Ensuring that each new development is connected to existing highways infrastructure, which in turn is part of a coherent network, is paramount.

Increased emphasis has been placed on Local Authorities over the last decade to promote walking and cycling. By facilitating local trips are made without the private car, the Council will be reducing congestion on both local and to a lesser extent regional highway networks. The effects of this will also include improved individual health and wellbeing.

The Council will continue to assess and prioritise schemes for development they are predicated on the availability of external funding to deliver or promote them. The defined active travel improvements that would be required over the local plan period are defined in the infrastructure delivery schedule.

Flood Risk Management

Introduction

The 2009 Flood Risk Regulations and the 2010 Flood and Water Management Act set out new responsibilities for the management of flood risk. South Tyneside Council is designated as a Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) and is responsible for local flood risk management from surface water, groundwater, ordinary watercourses, and small reservoirs including any interactions they may have with main rivers which are managed by the Environment Agency.

This includes the development and delivery of flood alleviation projects as well as ensuring new developments are protected against flood risk for up to a 1 in 100-year event plus 45% climate change.

South Tyneside Council’s highways department are responsible for all drainage associated with the highways – including gullies and road drainage.

Within South Tyneside, we have a number of water bodies both main river and ordinary watercourses. South Tyneside Council hold responsibility for the ordinary watercourses such as the burns and tributaries and the Environment Agency are responsible for the main rivers – in South Tyneside the main rivers are the River Tyne and the River Don.

The River Don flows through the borough and also through the boundaries of Gateshead Council and Sunderland City Council. The impacts on developments around the River Don and any additional surface water being directed into this river must therefore be considered by all local authorities.

Although water management across the borough is coordinated by a number of bodies and authorities, there is an interaction between each aspect and therefore a coordinated approach is required. All parties work in collaboration through the Northumbria Integrated Drainage Partnership (NIDP) and the Tyne and Wear Flood Risk Partnership to ensure a resilient future for the residents of South Tyneside by delivering efficient, innovative, and sustainable improvements for residents.

Strategic Context

South Tyneside Council were required to undertake a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA) under the 2009 Flood Risk Regulations and to produce a Flood Risk Management Strategy under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The strategy is informed by flood risk issues and help to align future investment in flood risk management by relevant stakeholders, including developers.

Flood risk assessments require new flood defences, the expansion of existing flood defences, maintaining and improving existing drainage infrastructure (including sewers, drains and rivers), and reducing the amount / intensity of water entering drainage infrastructure during storm events.

A Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategy (2017) outlines priorities for the Council in terms of protecting the borough and coast from flood risk. This up-to-date document, along with other flood risk related documents including the Surface Water Management Plan and Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (2014) can be found on the Council's website.

Partnership Working

One of the key objectives of the Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategy is partnership working. It is key in producing and implementing local strategies which will enable expertise and important information to be shared and efficiencies in flood risk and coastal management to be identified, enabling the management of such risks.

As part of developing this partnership working, South Tyneside Council are involved in a several partnership groups including the River Don Catchment Partnership and the Tyne Catchment Partnership as well as liaison groups between the local authorities and Northumbrian Water (Northumbria Integrated Drainage Partnership, also the Tyne Estuary Partnership).

New Developments

For new developments on greenfield or brownfield sites, sufficient evidence must be provided to prove that all surface water disposal routes have been explored in accordance with the surface water disposal hierarchy. The developer must also ensure that the site will not increase flood risk both within the development and elsewhere, and that the surface water disposal hierarchy has been considered in accordance with Building Regulations Approved Document H – Drainage and Waste Disposal.

It is important to note that although infiltration is a preference, there are many areas within South Tyneside where it is not feasible due to ground conditions or mining legacy and associated groundwater issues. It is therefore important for any developer to assess all possible means of surface water disposal thoroughly. Surface water should be disposed of in accordance with Building Regulations Approved Document H – Drainage and Waste Disposal.

A set of local standards for the seven North East Lead Local Flood Authorities have been produced in order to steer development towards the required and appropriate use of SuDS with the aim of mimicking natural drainage and reducing damage from flooding, improving water quality, protecting, and improving the environment, providing amenity and ensuring the stability and durability of drainage systems.

The Strategic Flood Risk Assessment

In order to initiate the sequential risk-based approach to the allocation of land for development and to identify whether application of the Exception Test is likely to be necessary, South Tyneside Council commissioned a Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA). The SFRA provides evidence about the present and future risk of flooding in South Tyneside from all sources of flooding. The Level 1 SFRA was completed in 2022.

Application of the Sequential Test for flood risk in 2022 based on the Level 1 SFRA 2022 has demonstrated that the proposed development allocations in the South Tyneside Draft Regulation 18 Local Plan pass the Sequential Test, because there are no other suitable locations for development in the borough in areas of lower flood risk for the amount of development proposed in the Plan.

The response of the Environment Agency to the consultation on the Draft Regulation 18 Local Plan stated, ‘With respect to the sequential flood test, we agree with the methodology used and welcome references to climate change when undertaking the sequential test.’

The South Tyneside Employment Land Review (March 2023) identified additional plots of land at the Port of Tyne as deliverable for port and river-related economic development and amended the boundary of the existing identified plot.

The Level 1 SFRA Addendum was completed in September 2023. It provides a strategic assessment of the suitability, relative to flood risk, of the sites at the Port of Tyne to be considered for allocation in the Local Plan.

The Sequential Test for flood risk has been updated to factor in the findings of the Level 1 SFRA Addendum. This has identified the need for a Level 2 SFRA in relation to the Port of Tyne sites.

Priorities for Investment

South Tyneside Council is currently working in partnership with Northumbrian Water and the Environment Agency to prioritise sites in terms of surface water flood risk issues and this can influence the investment schedule.

In partnership with The Environment Agency, South Tyneside Council have produced an ongoing investment programme which identifies the most at risk areas in terms of surface water flood risk. This is based on historic incidences of flooding as well as accurate and up to date flood modelling – the latest update of this programme included a number of potential flood alleviation schemes across South Tyneside.

South Tyneside Council worked in partnership with Northumbrian Water in 2015 in Fellgate to deliver a large flood alleviation scheme which reduced the risk of surface water flooding by directing surface water to the nearest watercourse. The Fellgate scheme was an award winning scheme which continues to protect properties.

In 2019, work was completed on the Monkton flood alleviation scheme. The £2.5m project better protected 150 properties around the Monkton area and was part funded by the Environment Agency and South Tyneside Council.

Cleadon Village Flood Alleviation Scheme

The most recent flood alleviation project carried out in South Tyneside was the Cleadon Flood Alleviation Scheme.

In December 2020, South Tyneside Council completed a flood alleviation scheme to protect 130 properties from the risk of surface water flooding during heavy rainfall. This scheme consists of an embankment and storage area north of the Cleadon Lea estate capturing overland flows from the fields, and the capacity improvement to drainage ditches and newly built ditches in the Sunderland Road area freeing up space within the road’s drainage system.

An area of Tyne Dock is known to flood on frequent occasions. This includes the strategic road network near Port of Tyne Entrance and properties around Templetown. This affects traffic in both directions into and out of South Shields. Flooding also occurs in a metro tunnel having widespread stoppages across the metro services both within South Tyneside and out of the borough. It is believed that this floods on a frequency in excess of the 1 in 1 year return period. Feasibility work is ongoing with partners Northumbrian Water, Environment Agency and Nexus in order to mitigate the frequency of the flooding impacts.

Coastal Defences

The updated flood defences at Littlehaven provide a vital role in South Tyneside’s infrastructure, leisure and tourism. In 2013, the flood defences at Littlehaven beach were replaced as the existing sea wall was in a state of disrepair. Since its completion in 2014, there has been an increase in tourism as well as an improvement to the facilities in the area and importantly a better protected coastline. This work is alongside improvements made to the sand dunes to increase their stability and increase the defences further down the coast.

The coast and its defences, both natural and man-made are continually under review for new schemes to both improve and protect our coastline.

South Tyneside Council were involved with the production of the Shoreline Management Plan 2010 (SMP2) which provides the policy framework for managing the risks from coastal erosion and sea flooding along the coast in a sustainable manner over the next 100 years. For the South Tyneside coastline the Shoreline Management Plan contains the following policies:

• Maintain protection to property and infrastructure against erosion and sea flooding.
• Allow natural process to proceed at specified undefended sections of coastline.

Stronger Shores

More recently in 2021, a South Tyneside Council-led regional partnership secured £6.4m to pilot a scheme to improve the understanding of the benefits of UK marine habitats with regards to coastal erosion, flood risk, climate change and biodiversity management. The ‘Stronger Shores’ project is one of 25 innovative new projects selected nationwide to trial a wide range of approaches to flood response and will include the restoration of sub-tidal habitats (kelp beds, oyster reefs and sea grass), improvements in water quality and carbon capture and monitoring techniques focusing on the coast from Blyth in Northumberland to Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire.

Green Infrastructure

Introduction

Green infrastructure is defined in the NPPF as:

A network of multi-functional green space, urban and rural, which is capable of delivering a wide range of environmental and quality of life benefits for local communities.

The 2023 Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy sets out the Green Infrastructure Strategy for the borough.

Green infrastructure can help promote healthy lifestyles by providing spaces for formal and informal recreation while improved connectivity can encourage activities such as walking, cycling and horse riding. Outdoor sport facilities provide important opportunities for formal sports and recreation. Well-designed infrastructure can support a wealth of ecological processes and is important for promoting biodiversity.

Strategic Green Infrastructure corridors

The Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy identifies GBI needs and opportunities across the borough and identifies Strategic Projects which form an important foundation for multi-partner working, helping to deliver projects across the borough which deliver multiple GBI functions in the areas of deficit.

Green Infrastructure Assets

• Parks
• Council-owned allotment sites
• Coastal areas
• Sports provision
• River Tyne
• River Don and associated tributaries
• Dune System, Sandhaven

Open Space Provision

The Open Space Study 2023 provides the most recent evidence with regard to open space provision in South Tyneside. South Tyneside has 1153.09 ha of open space. Table 1 identifies the amount of provision within the Borough by typology:

Current supply against the standards

Table 2 below shows the existing supply (in hectares) of open space for each typology for each of the wards, and at the study area level.

Summary of provision

Allotments: There are 35 sites classified as allotments in South Tyneside, equating to over 41 hectares. There are waiting lists for allotments across South Tyneside suggesting that demand for allotments is not currently being met by supply. Waiting list numbers suggest that continuing measures should be made to provide additional plots in the future.

There are some large gaps across several built-up areas of many wards, including Beacon and Bents, Horsley Hill, Harton, Cleadon, Biddick and All Saints, Fellgate and Hedworth, Hebburn South and Hebburn North.

Amenity Green Space: There is generally good access across the borough, although there are some relatively large gaps around the border with Harton, Westoe and West Park, and also in Cleadon; and Whitburn and Marsden. However, there is good access to parks and recreation grounds in the areas, with the exception of the north of Whitburn.

Parks and Recreation Grounds: Largely good access across the majority of the borough, although there are some significant gaps in the east (Horsley Hill, Harton, and Whitburn and Marsden) and in the central area (Bede, Fellgate and Hedworth, and Simonside and Rekendyke).

Play Space (Children): There are significant gaps across several built-up areas of wards, including Horsley Hill, Harton, Whitburn and Marsden, Cleadon Park, Whiteleas, Cleadon and East Boldon, Simonside and Rekendyke, Fellgate and Hedworth and Hebburn South.

Play Space (Youth): There are significant gaps across several built-up areas of wards, including Horsley Hill, Harton, Cleadon, Fellgate and Hedworth, Simonside and Rekendyke, and no access in Whitburn and Marsden.

Accessible Natural Green Space: Generally good access across the majority of the borough for a 20 minutes’ walk time, although there are significant gaps across built-up in Beacon and Bents and Simonside and Rekendyke.

Other provision (not within the open space typology for the Open Space Study)

Cemeteries / Churchyards: Cemeteries and churchyards include areas for quiet contemplation and burial of the dead. Sites can often be linked to the promotion of wildlife conservation and biodiversity. Forty-two sites are classified as cemeteries / churchyards, equating to just over 60 hectares of provision in South Tyneside. The need for additional burial provision is driven by the demand for burials and capacity.

A need has been identified by the Council’s Bereavement Services Team for additional cemetery capacity at Jarrow, Boldon and Whitburn Cemeteries. Boldon and Whitburn have capacity for 23 and 29 years while Jarrow has 11 years left.

Civic Spaces: There are two civic space sites, equating to more than one hectare of provision, identified in South Tyneside. The only identified forms of civic space provision are the South Shields Market Place and the Sandhaven Amphitheatre. Other forms of provision in the area (e.g. parks and gardens) provide localised opportunities associated with the function of civic space.

Sport and Recreation

South Tyneside has a range of formal outdoor and indoor sports provision across the borough providing opportunities to engage to sporting activities and to support healthy and active lifestyles. Key indoor and outdoor sporting sites include:

• Temple Park, South Shields
• Haven Point, South Shields
• Monkton Stadium, Jarrow
• Hebburn Central, Hebburn
• Jarrow Focus and Community Pool, Jarrow

The borough also has numerous outdoor grass sports pitches which provide playing pitches for football, rugby, cricket and hockey. These sites include Council-owned playing field sites and privately- owned facilities and clubs.

The 2019 Playing Pitch Strategy

The 2019 Playing Pitch Strategy concluded that the existing position for all pitch sports in South Tyneside is that demand is being met or there is a shortfall.

Due to the identified shortfalls in the Playing Pitch Strategy, there remains a need to protect all existing playing fields until all demand is met.

The council is working alongside Sport England and sport’s National Governing Bodies to prepare an updated Playing Pitch Strategy to support the Local Plan. The findings from this study will be reflected in the IDP where appropriate.

Playing Pitch Improvements

The Council is committed to meeting the sporting needs of the borough and to improving the quality of playing pitch provision in South Tyneside. The Council intends to increase the provision of ‘secure’ pitches, available for community use, together with the creation of additional pitches at existing sites.

The Council is considering improving the quality of existing facilities that the Council either operates directly or leases to third part community groups. The Council is working with the Football Foundation and has been accepted as part of the Local Authority Grass Pitch Programme, commencing early 2022. Participation in this scheme will increase the robustness of the pitch improvement process and shorten the delivery time.

The Draft Local Plan 2023 - 2040

The draft Local Plan proposes to allocate 3 sites which are identified as playing field land; including lapsed pitches and pitches which are in current use (Table 3). The Playing Pitch Strategy (2019) shows that all currently used playing field sites require protection and cannot be deemed surplus to requirements because of shortfalls now and in the future, the sites identified in Table 3 should be protected from development or re-provided elsewhere in accordance with Sport England’s Playing Fields Policy Exception E4.

The findings of the emerging Playing Pitch Strategy will inform the mitigation requirements needed to address the impacts from Local Plan allocations. The findings from this study will be reflected in the IDP where appropriate.

Energy Supply

Introduction

The provision of gas and electricity is essential to facilitate the new developments identified in the Local Plan. Discussions with developers will be held on a site-by-site basis to determine the particular requirements for each individual development. This is generally an adequate approach to ensure that supply and capacity issues are addressed. However, it is also important that the utility providers are provided with the opportunity for an early high-level overview of the Local Plan proposals to determine if here are any strategic capacity issues which need to be addressed. Accordingly meetings have been held with Northern PowerGrid and Northern Gas Networks to encourage them to engage with the consultation on the emerging Local Plan.

Gas

Gas is distributed nationally via the high pressure National Transmission system to a series of Local Distribution Zones. There are eight Gas Distribution Networks currently owned by four companies, which each cover a separate geographical region in England.

Northern Gas Networks operates, maintains and invests in over 36,000km of pipe across the network and £1bn of other assets that manage the flow of gas to 2.7 million homes and business throughout the North East, northern Cumbria and much of Yorkshire. Northern Gas Networks is the gas transporter that owns and operates the Gas Distribution Zone in South Tyneside. Northern Gas Networks does not supply gas but owns the networks through which it flows. Northern gas Networks operate under licence from the government, and under the terms of the licence, long term infrastructure investments are funded over 45 years.

Electricity

National Grid operates the national electricity transmission network across Great Britain and owns and maintains the network in England and Wales, providing electricity supplies from generating stations to local distribution companies. Northern Power Grid owns and operates the electricity distribution network in South Tyneside.

District Heating Networks

The Viking Energy Network, Jarrow (VENJ) is new district energy scheme recently completed. It will initially link 9 Council buildings to a water source heat pump energy centre, drawing heat from the River Tyne at Jarrow Staithes. Much of the electricity to run the system will be provided by a 1MW solar farm, with back up gas boilers, combined heat and power (CHP) and both electrical and thermal storage. The system is designed for expansion to supply 14 buildings and Palmer Hospital in a later phase. The current phase is a £16m development by STC, part financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which will reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 1085 tonnes per annum.

Hebburn Minewater District Energy Scheme has recently completed and is comprised of:

• Hebburn Renewable Energy Network will use an air source heat pump to produce low carbon heating for a number of buildings in Hebburn town centre.
• This heat will then be used by a new energy centre and district heating network and will provide heating to 111 residential flats in Durham Court, Hebburn Central and the new Children's home in Hebburn. Future expansion to the heat network to connect to a further 12 schools is also planned in the near future.
• It is expected to deliver a significant CO2 reduction of 319 tons per annum and lay the foundation for the planned future network development.

West Holborn Renewable Energy Network (WREN) is currently under construction and is comprised of:

• Holborn Renewable Energy Network provides a unique opportunity to incorporate the latest, most innovative low carbon renewable technologies into South Shields Town Centre and the surrounding areas.
• Total carbon emissions saving is expected to be between 6750 - 9000 tonnes per annum. The anticipated 35 year lifetime of the scheme will save approximately 236,250 / 315,000 tonnes of carbon.
• Total cost is estimated £35 million - 45 million with potential contributions from the Green Heat Network Fund, The Levelling Up Fund, The BECCS Innovation Fund and Energy Accelerator Funding from NELEP
• Phase 1 was completed in June 2022.
• The scheme is expected to generate up to 12 GWh of heat and 2.5 GWh of electricity annually, which is equivalent to 12 times the annual consumption of South Tyneside Town Hall.
• Water will be taken from flooded abandoned coal mines and processed by water source heat pumps to raise its temperature, in addition water will also be taken from The River Tyne and then processed by water source heat pumps to raise its temperature. This water will then be used to provide heat to several buildings. Waste wood will be gasified into Syngas and Green Hydrogen, this will then create heat and power to the network.

Telecommunications

Standard landline and mobile services are available across the borough. However, the Council’s economic development aspirations require the achievement of excellence in broadband provision as supported by South Tyneside Council’s Digital Infrastructure Strategy which focuses on three core priorities:

• To drive the roll out of future-proofed, gigabit-capable digital connectivity throughout South Tyneside
• To plug mobile coverage gaps, building resilient mobile connectivity, particularly in our town centres and tourist areas
• Create conditions for a connected Borough, where smart solutions can be piloted and embedded, allowing businesses to maximise potential and improve residents access to efficient services.

Broadband

Fast, resilient and affordable broadband connectivity is vital for our residents, businesses, visitors and investors.

Better digital connectivity can boost productivity, support digital transformation to help businesses grow and export, allow residents to access training and public services and is a key requirement of visitors and investors. The economic impact of better broadband is considerable (£20 in net economic impact for every £1 of spending according to DCMS as better broadband makes firms and workers more productive).

Focus from Government, through Building Digital UK (BDUK), an arm of DCMS, over the past decade has been on the rollout of superfast broadband.

Whilst superfast broadband coverage is extensive across South Tyneside (97%) and the UK (96%), technology is evolving, as the demand for faster, more robust connectivity increases.

Government is now focussed on the provision of future-proof, gigabit-capable broadband. One gigabit is equal to 1,000 Mbps – for comparison, superfast is 30 Mbps. This means that however technology develops in the future, fast and reliable speeds will be available to support it.

The Government’s ambition of 85% of homes having gigabit-capable broadband by 2025 and nationwide gigabit-capable broadband by 2030, resulted in the launch of Project Gigabit (£5bn funding committed) which aims to focus on the hard-to-reach 20% of the UK outside of any commercial plans.

South Tyneside (as of the end of 2022) currently has 83.1% gigabit-coverage (ahead of the national coverage of 70%), but the borough lags behind regionally and nationally when it comes to full fibre or Fibre to the Premise; our rates of full fibre are 11.4% compared to 42% nationally. However, this is a big increase from 1.7% in 2021.

To ensure broadband improvements are delivered in the North East, Durham County Council is leading a project called ‘Digital Durham’ in partnership with other North East local authorities including South Tyneside Council.

South Tyneside Council has invested significant funds, along with other North East local authorities, to match Broadband UK funding in rolling out superfast broadband across the borough. The Council is now working closely with Digital Durham on the potential for Project Gigabit to cover areas of the borough that are not commercially viable for gigabit rollout as part of a wider North East procurement exercise. It is expected that activity will begin on this in 2024.

Water Resources and Sewage Management

Introduction

The provision and management of water across the borough is a vital element associated with infrastructure development and delivery. This is managed across South Tyneside by Northumbrian Water, South Tyneside Council and The Environment Agency in its varying aspects.

Across the North East, Northumbrian Water supplies both potable (drinking) and raw water, and collects, treats and disposes of sewerage, serving 2.7 million people which include the residents of South Tyneside. Northumbrian Water is also responsible for the maintenance of the piped sewerage system which carries wastewater away from properties and businesses to be treated at the Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW).

Assets

Northumbrian Water has a duty to develop and maintain an efficient supply and treatment of water across the North East. South Tyneside’s water comes from Northumbrian Water reservoirs located outside of the borough’s boundary as well as boreholes which tap into the Magnesian limestone aquifer.

There are no water supply issues identified, and Northumbrian Water has not forecasted a deficit in water resource or supply in the long term. This was confirmed as part of their assessment of future development. In terms of fresh water supply, Northumbrian Water does not envisage the supply of fresh water as a constraint to the proposals in the Local Plan.

South Tyneside’s wastewater treatment is also undertaken by Northumbrian Water at Wastewater Treatment Works located in Howdon and Hendon.

Howdon Wastewater Treatment Works treats a combination of domestic, trade and surface water discharges from five local authorities: South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Gateshead, Newcastle, and parts of Northumberland.

Due to historic drainage arrangements large parts of South Tyneside is served by combined sewers which transport both foul and surface water flows to the Wastewater Treatment Works. The presence of surface water which does not require treatment, limits the ability of the WwTW to accept additional foul flows from new developments. Therefore a key priority for Northumbrian Water in recent years has been to remove surface water where possible, through new development opportunities and specific investment projects, to direct it away from the Wastewater Treatment Works and unnecessary treatment. Wherever feasible new sewerage connections should look to provide separation with surface water either being managed naturally on land or directed to watercourses, or seeking to enter surface water sewers if available, and foul water entering foul only sewers to be taken to WwTW for treatment in accordance with the requirements of the drainage hierarchy as set out in The National Planning Policy Framework.

During 2015 - 2020 Northumbrian Water delivered a number of agreed Surface Water Separation schemes which were designed to relieve the volume of flows entering Howdon Wastewater Treatment Works and create additional headroom capacity at the works to accommodate new development.

Northumbrian Water acting as the sewerage undertaker operating within the north east of England, have reviewed the development proposals in the emerging South Tyneside Local Plan and are satisfied that there are no capacity issues at either Hendon or Howdon Wastewater Treatment Works, which will preclude the proposed development from coming forward. This statement is based on the fact that both of these treatment works are not highlighted as exceeding dry weather flow (DWF) compliance, when the level of growth identified within the plan, is included. Early dialogue is always encouraged with Northumbrian Water in order to fully integrate sustainable drainage and water provision into new development design schemes.

Priorities for Investment

Under the Water Industry Act 1991, Northumbrian Water has a duty to provide fresh water and to take and treat foul water (sewerage) from domestic uses. Northumbrian Water has a statutory duty to prepare and maintain a Water Resources Management Plan which must demonstrate how they can maintain the balance between supply and demand of water over the next 25 years.

Northumbrian Water operates on a five-yearly cycle for funding called “Asset Management Plan” (AMP) periods. The current Asset Management Plan (AMP7) for NW covers the period April 2020 to March 2025 and details projects that are required to maintain and modernise the network. An assessment of supply and demand as a result of new development will be made as part of the business plan submission.

NWL considers a number of different data sources to compile its business case including population projections based on its drainage areas, growth information provided by Local Authorities and the Office for National Statistics and outputs from its drainage area studies.

Northumbrian Water published its first draft Drainage and Waste Water Management Plan (DWMP) in June 2022. The document sets out how Northumbrian Water will plan for the future of drainage, wastewater, and environment water quality, ensuring its drainage and wastewater systems are sustainable, robust and resilient to future pressures such as climate change and population growth.

Introduction

The health of residents in South Tyneside is generally worse than the regional and national averages with many residents facing health inequalities across the borough. One of the Council’s key ambitions is for residents to be:

‘Healthy and Well – Residents will enjoy good mental wellbeing and physical health throughout their lives. They will have the best start in life and be able to live and age well.’

The built environment, a large proportion of which is made up of housing and accommodation, is considered to be a key factor in determining the health and wellbeing of residents.

The linkages between health and the built and natural environment have long been established and the role of the environment in shaping the social, economic and environmental circumstances that determine health is increasingly recognised and understood. Features of the built environment that have an impact on health include:

• Location, density and mix of land use
• Street layout and connectivity
• Physical access to public services, employment, local fresh food
• Safety and security
• Access to open and green space – including provision for play
• Air quality and noise
• Community interaction
• Transport – including walking and cycling

The population size has decreased by 0.2%, from around 148,100 in 2011 to 147,800 in 2021. People in older age groups are making up an increasingly large proportion of the total population in South Tyneside (and nationally). Between 2011 and 2021 a decrease of 5.4% in people aged 15 to 64 years, and an increase of 3.9% in children aged under 15 years. In 2021, there were 31,060 people aged 65+ representing 21% of the population marking a 15.1% increase over the last 10 years. By 2040, the South Tyneside population is estimated to have 40,508 residents aged over 65 years old and over, which is 25.6% of the total population (158,520). Of these residents, 22,138 are expected to be female and 18,370 are expected to be male. This will bring about a need to change how healthcare is provided to ensure that people can live healthy and happy lives within their community.

The council seeks to take a whole view of health and well-being based on the Dahlgren and Whitehead model in South Tyneside. This model highlights that we need to address the population’s social and economic circumstances to improve the health and well-being outcomes. This includes people’s living and working conditions, social and community networks as well as health-related behaviours.

South Tyneside’s Health and Well-being Strategy (2022) vision is to "work in partnership to improve the health, well-being, and quality of life for children, adults, and families and reduce health inequalities, to help people live longer and healthier lives." The Strategy identifies the following outcomes for the population:

• Giving every child and young person the best start in life
• Financial security to lead healthy, fulfilling lives
• Good mental health and social networks throughout life
• Safe and healthy places to live, learn, and work

With two further cross-cutting themes:

• Public Involvement and Citizen Engagement (PICE), and
• Tackling intervention-generated inequalities

Since the national changes to Public Health in 2013, the Authority continues to have responsibility for:

• Leading investment for improving and protecting the health of the population and reducing health inequalities.
• Ensuring plans are in place to protect the health of the population and ensuring an appropriate public health response to local incidents, outbreaks, and emergencies; and
• Providing public health expertise, advice, and analysis to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs).

In line with the NHS Long Term Plan (2019), the structure of the NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board(ICB) has changed. There are now three Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in the East, South, and West of the Borough. Essentially PCNs are groups of practices and primary/community care specialists clustered together working on five broad priorities as follows:

• Improving prevention and tackling health inequalities
• Supporting better patient outcomes in the community through proactive primary care
• Supporting improved patient access to primary Care services
• Delivering better outcomes for patients
• Developing local plans to improve health in partnership with local communities, health, social and voluntary organisations

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of digital change as services have adopted technology to enable the delivery of care through implementing e-consult, video consultations, etc. The aim is to continue to develop a safe, digitally enabled primary care and out-of-hospital care service alongside traditional face-to-face consultations. An expanded, integrated multidisciplinary workforce is key to delivering safe, effective, and proactive care.

Assets

There are a range of health assets across the borough. This section outlines those assets and highlights work that is underway to drive improvements, some of which are part of covid recovery plans.

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust manages both hospital and community health services across South Tyneside.

The aim of the community health services are to help patients stay out of hospital wherever possible and to receive their care within the community or at home. There is a range of specialist services that allows the trust to provide this including community nurses, health visitors and recovery at home. There are over 50 community services across Sunderland and South Tyneside examples include children and young people, health visitors, cardiology, dental, harm reduction, learning disability and mental health.

Pathway to Excellence is a transformational programme of healthcare across South Tyneside and Sunderland. The overall vision of the programme is to build outstanding future hospital services which offer the very highest quality of patient care and clinical excellence for each and every resident of South Tyneside and Sunderland. Early work has started on phase 2 of the programme for three areas of hospital care which are acute medicine and emergency care, emergency surgery, and planned care which includes surgery and outpatient care.

At present, Primary Care Services in South Tyneside include:

• 21 GP practices in three Primary Care Networks. Seven practices in PCN East, six in PCN South and eight in PCN West.
• 23 contracted dental practices across 20 sites
• 16 optometric practices
• 34 pharmacies

Meeting Demand For Primary Care Access

Across the borough, the ICB estimate that 9 surgeries currently have the expected number of clinical rooms given their patient population. Growth in the population from new house building together with an ageing population (who require more clinical support) will therefore require new investment. The remaining practices are all undersized, lacking the number of rooms to needed to undertake the level of activity we would expect the population to need. In total there is a shortfall of 75 clinical rooms split across the three PCNs in South Tyneside. This is summarised in Table 4.

The scope to create a new GP practice is limited in terms of available sites and may not be viable. Creating small branch surgeries is no longer financially viable for most practices and no longer aligns with the NHS’s desire to provide primary care services at scale within the community. The local authority is working with the ICB regarding how these challenges can be addressed.

The continued expansion of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) has significantly improved the resilience of primary care access. Services are now delivered across a range of buildings giving patients more choice in where and how they access services. PCNs allow the balancing of clinical load across a network of buildings, so the ICB considers that Section 106 contributions should be linked to PCN partner practices, rather than individual practice buildings.

The local authority is responsible for several services that impact health and well-being, including the provision of social care. Whilst not a direct health asset, the importance and interdependency of social care must be acknowledged. Social care services provide support to people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and illnesses, and mental illnesses. It is intended to help the people receiving social care to live comfortably. Social care is provided in many different forms, ranging from some extra help around the house and assistance with washing and dressing, to helping with building positive relationships, access to specialist equipment, or full-time residential care.

There is also Inspire South Tyneside which is the infrastructure organisation for the voluntary and community sector in South Tyneside providing information, advice, and support towards improving the capacity and sustainability of the sector. As above, the contribution of the voluntary sector must be acknowledged as they play a vital role in meeting the needs of residents.

Priorities for Investment

North East and North Cumbria has developed a framework to show its vision, goals and enabling actions:

The ICB’s vision is of better, fairer, health and wellbeing for everyone. This is intended to be an inclusive vision, capturing the need to improve health and broader wellbeing for everyone across the North East and North Cumbria as well as South Tyneside. There are four goals that show commitment to this vision:

• To reduce the gap between South Tyneside’s and the England average in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy at birth, by at least 10% by 2030 so that residents may live longer healthier lives.
• To reduce the inequality in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy at birth between people living in the most deprived 20% of neighbourhoods and the least deprived 20% - by at least 10% by 2030 to ensure fairer health outcomes for all.
• To give South Tyneside’s residents the best start in life by increasing the percentage of children with good school readiness at reception, especially for children from disadvantaged groups.
• To improve health and care services in South Tyneside by ensuring that the Integrated Care System for the North East and North Cumbria region is rated as good or excellent by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Inspections will be undertaken of whole system from a broader partnership perspective to help achieve this.

The five enablers shown in the framework diagram above are cross cutting themes that will enable the delivery of the ICB’s goals for South Tyneside.

The 2022 Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) indicated that access to community pharmacies across South Tyneside was well provided with 91% of pharmacies open for more than the core contract hours. There was one ‘100 hour’ pharmacy out of a total of 34 pharmacies in South Tyneside which provides extended, and out-of-hours cover for pharmaceutical services across the borough. There are 23 pharmacies across South Tyneside that open on Saturday mornings and 10 of these pharmacies remain open in the afternoon. In addition to the Riverside Locality's 100-hour pharmacy, there are two more pharmacies from the Jarrow and Boldon areas that are open on Sundays from 10am to 4pm.

There was a good distribution of and sufficient provision of community pharmacies in or near areas with:

• areas of high population density;
• the highest levels of deprivation;
• a high proportion of the population aged 75 and over.

Analysis shows that 76% of South Tyneside residents are within a 10 minutes’ walk to a pharmacy. This is a 4% increase over the last 5 years. 99% of patients are now within 20 minutes’ walk. South Tyneside pharmacies dispensed roughly 4% more items than the North East average at 8,700. Community pharmacies in South Tyneside dispensed on average, 110,656 prescription items per provider during 2020/21, compared to an average of 86,711 for England. In South Tyneside, 38% of the pharmacies belonged to a chain or multiple pharmacies during this time. While smaller "independent" pharmacies made up more than 60% of the pharmacy locations and filled, on average, 71% of the prescriptions. This shows that South Tyneside residents also make considerable use of independent pharmacies as well as larger businesses. This, combined with prior analysis in the PNA suggests that the existing pharmacy capacity in South Tyneside is sufficient given the future number of dwellings expected.

There are 21 GP practices in South Tyneside of which 5 have branch surgeries. All GP practices now have the ability to send electronic prescriptions to South Tyneside pharmacies and no practices are dispensing practices.

Following the results of the 2022 PNA, South Tyneside Health and Wellbeing Board concluded:

1. South Tyneside is adequately served by community pharmacies, and has 22 pharmacies per 100,000 population as compared to 21 for England;
2. Relatively low per capita provision of pharmacies in East Shields and Whitburn locality is mitigated by a provision in neighbouring localities including the 100-hour pharmacy to the North and pharmacies in neighbouring Sunderland local authority.
3. Many pharmacies are open to the idea of providing more services in the future – although in some cases this is dependent on the services being commissioned.
4. The existing 100-hour pharmacies in South Tyneside and surrounding localities, plus the 90-hour pharmacy in Boldon Colliery are essential to meet the needs of patients by extending access outside core hours when other pharmacies are closed;
5. The level of planned development is unlikely to require new pharmacy contracts, due to satisfactory cover from existing pharmacies;

Pharmacies made an important contribution to the health and well-being of the South Tyneside population during the COVID-19 pandemic and as a community asset are likely to play a significant role in the delivery of the Joint Health and Well-being Strategy for South Tyneside. The health and well-being board recommended the following:

1. Whilst the provision of community pharmacies overall, and in specific localities is adequate, commissioners should monitor some aspects of pharmacy provision, for example, the provision of emergency hormonal contraception on weekends in all localities.
2. Commissioners should consider the opportunities afforded by community pharmacy services to further deliver on health and well-being priorities

The current Pharmacy Needs Assessments require updating but have been delayed following the disruption caused by COVID-19. This section will need reviewing when an updated Pharmacy Needs Assessment is available.

A Commission on Primary Care was presented to People Select Committee in September 2017 which investigated how Primary Care was planned and delivered in the borough. To:

• Look in detail at the issues surrounding general practice.
• Examine what available information there is about primary care performance and what it infers.
• Learn what the national and local policy is regards the development of primary care.
• Make recommendations to ICB, NHS England, Cabinet, and South Tyneside Health and Wellbeing Board about future policy and service development

There is a need to forward a plan for health provision in its broadest sense. In the first instance, the improved connectivity between those responsible for the Infrastructure Delivery Plan, PCNs, and Public Health is very welcome, with an ongoing commitment to develop a local process.

This process needs to ensure that for any new major development (still to be defined) there will be early notification and that these parties are added as additional consultees. Factors to be considered may include:

• Location, density and mix of land use
• Street layout and connectivity
• Physical access to public services, employment, local fresh food
• Safety and security
• Access to open and green space – including provision for play
• Air quality and noise
• Community interaction
• Transport – including walking and cycling

In line with industry standards, developers will be expected to undertake a Health Impact Assessment (HIA). The threshold for Health Impact Assessments is identified within Policy 1: Promoting Healthy Communities of the Publication draft Local Plan d and will be provided in supporting emerging HIA guidance notes.

Introduction

The proposed housing developments in the Local Infrastructure Delivery Plan will have an impact on demand for school places across the borough. In projecting where and when demand will increase, the housing developments that have been assessed include existing planning permissions still to build out and allocations in the Local Plan. The housing trajectory included in the plan estimates when sites will build out and is subject to fluctuation therefore the iteration formulated in July 2023, showing 3,613 properties, has been used to assess the demand for school places, as developments progress the demand for school places will be reviewed as necessary, along with the need to seek developer contributions as appropriate.

Policy and Context

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that it is important that a sufficient choice of school places is available to meet the needs of existing and new communities. Local planning authorities should take a proactive, positive, and collaborative approach to meting this requirement.

In addition, under the Education Act 1996 Section 14(1), a Local Authority has a “duty to secure sufficient primary and secondary schools”.

The Local authority (LA) also has the following duty in relation to the provision of Early Years places:

• 15 hours entitlement for the most disadvantaged two-year-olds:
• 15 hours entitlement for parents of three- and four-year-olds (the universal entitlement); and
• 30 hours entitlement for working parents of three- and four-year-olds (the extended entitlement).

In addition, the March 2023 Budget included plans for the following further entitlements, to be phased in over the next three years:

• From April 2024, 2-year-olds in working families will get access to 15 hours a week of funded childcare
• From September 2024, the 15-hour offer will be extended to cover children in working families from 9 months to 2 years
• From September 2025 the entitlement will be doubled to 30 hours a week, 38 weeks of the year.

Schools in South Tyneside

The landscape of schools has changed over a period of years, due mainly to the increase in the number of schools that have converted to academies.

Table 5 below shows the current number and status of schools in the borough. Academies Voluntary Aided and Trust schools are schools for which the local authority is not the admission authority and therefore have their own admissions policies. However, the Local Authority works closely with all non-maintained schools and academies to fulfil its duty to secure sufficient primary and secondary schools.

Forecasting Future Needs

To meet their statutory requirements, local authorities need to develop mechanisms to forecast future pupil numbers at a local level to determine where school places are most likely to be needed as well as how they will be delivered and funded. Forecasting of pupil place requirements is challenging due to changing demographics in local areas; the unpredictable nature of parental preference; varying levels of net migration and the impact of new housing developments.

Future demand for school places is estimated using a number of key sources of information, some of which analyse local data and trends, and others using external estimates of population forecasts, such as those produced by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The Department for Education’s annual School Capacity (SCAP) return collects data from Local Authorities on current and projected pupil numbers. The information is used to identify shortfalls in school places across the primary and secondary sectors. The SCAP return for 2021 showed a shortfall in secondary school places from 2023 onwards, for which the Local Authority was awarded basic need funding to support capital works to address the shortfall. Basic need is the number of school places required, excluding an increase in demand as a direct result of new housing developments as there is an expectation that they would be supported from developer contributions.

Population Projections

The Office of National Statistic publish forecasts for population changes in the UK. The resident population of the borough was estimated to be 151,936 in 2021 which is based on the 2021 population estimate from the 2018-based ONS population projections. The ONS produces population projections every two years. A principal projection is produced along with variant projections which consider alternative migration assumptions. The latest 2018-based principal ONS population projections report a 2021 population of 151,936 across the borough which is expected to increase by 6,590 (4.3%) to 158,526 by 2039.

Demographics in South Tyneside are constantly changing as a result of fluctuating birth rates, as well as inward and outward migration.

Birth data, collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), underpins all forecasts for the early years and primary sectors. The council also holds data on pupil movement trends from the School Census and examines pupil movement between schools, wards, in and out of the borough, and between educational stages i.e. transferring from primary to secondary school. These trends are combined with birth and housing data to create pupil projections.

Infant Class size legislation impacts on planning for places in Key Stage 1. The legislation restricts class size in Key Stage 1 to 30 pupils per teacher, except in specified exceptional circumstances. In addition, recent government policy has introduced the entitlement for some parents to access 15 hours free childcare for 2-year-olds and for eligible parents to receive up to 30 hours free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds. The impact of this is that a greater age range and number must be considered when identifying the sufficiency of nursery places required to serve any new housing development.

Table 7 below shows birth data from ONS and actual number of pupils in the relevant year groups.

The increase in 2015 / 2016 birth year is the cohort of pupils currently in the Year 3 ‘bulge’ year. The demand for reception places in 2020 / 2021 for this cohort presented challenges in meeting parental preferences, with an increase in admissions appeals.

Although the projections based on birth data show that the number of children requiring school places is likely to remain relatively static for the borough overall, there will be some localised pressure on places as birth rates fluctuate across planning areas.

Impact of Housing Developments

Appendix 3 shows the projections of the yield from the proposed housing developments across the borough. The analysis shown in Paragraph 8.22 below shows the additional places projected to be needed across all sectors, but not uniformly across the borough.

Planning for the impact on demand for school places is threefold, the first is the potential impact across all year groups of the effect of families moving into new houses and seeking to transfer their children to neighbouring mainstream schools, the second is the increase in the general school population numbers which will have a consequent increased demand for special school and specialist settings places and the third is the 0-4 age group, with an increase in the number of pupils requiring nursery provision and Reception places in future years.

Each of the six primary planning areas covers a relatively large geographical area. The location of current school provision and the concentration of planned housing developments within a planning area can affect the planning of school places. For example, there may appear to be sufficient school places overall to meet current and projected demand for places in a particular planning area but the distance between the planned development and available school places may exceed the two miles walking distance for primary pupils and three miles for secondary pupils.

School rolls in South Tyneside’s primary and secondary schools have been relatively static in recent years, with the exception of current Year 3 (as at September 2023), which is a ‘bulge’ year, due to an increase in the birth rate resulting in a Reception year group larger than the general trend. The Y3 ‘bulge’ year group will transfer to secondary schools in 2027. However, projections indicate that potential housing developments will have a significant impact on demand for primary places across the planning areas and on secondary places beyond the Y3 ‘bulge’ year.

Methodology for Assessing Pupil Yield from Housing Developments

To ensure that the impact of housing developments is adequately mitigated the following are taken into account:

• The increase in demand for education places across all sectors arising from each development, based on the following pupil yield factors, extrapolated from analyses of yields from recent housing developments:
  • Primary places - an additional place for every 4 properties
  • Secondary places - an additional place for every 8 properties
  • Nursery places – based on the Childcare sufficiency evidence
  • Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) places – based on forecasted demand for places
• The capacity of existing schools that will serve the development, taking account of pupil migration across planning areas and local authority boundaries;
• Available sources of funding to increase capacity where required
• The extent to which developer contributions are required and the degree of certainty that these will be secured at the appropriate time

Planning Areas

To drill down beyond the high level Borough data, to carry out pupil forecasts effectively and ensure there are sufficient places in the right areas, the Borough is split into six planning areas for primary forecasting and three for secondary forecasting. Any proposals to change school provision are taken within the context of the planning areas.

Although planning for demand for school places is based on these planning areas and catchment areas, preferences expressed by parents/carers for schools in different catchment areas, planning areas, other Local Authority areas or private provision also influences the planning of places.

Appendix 4 shows the position by sector and planning area, sub-planning areas and year groups as of September 2023. Breaking the planning areas into sub-areas demonstrates that an overall surplus of places does not necessarily mean that there are sufficient places in the right places. Similarly, vacancies by year group also demonstrate that they can be unevenly distributed, with some year groups oversubscribed.

The mechanism used to collect data for projecting demand for school places is the Department for Education’s (DfE) annual School Capacity (SCAP) survey. The return was suspended for 2020 due to the pandemic restrictions, the return date for the 2023 return was 31 July 2023. This data is used by DfE to determine funding for Basic Need places. This is separate from funding that would be sought from developers where a development will increase demand for school places. The years covered for projections in the 2023 SCAP are:

• Primary 2023 / 2024 academic year to 2027 / 2028 academic year
• Secondary – 2023 / 2024 academic year to 2029 / 2030 academic year

The analysis of the impact of proposed housing developments has therefore been done in two parts:

1. data from the SCAP return which is limited to the short term, i.e. up to 2027 / 2028 for primary projections and up to 2029 / 2030 for secondary projections.
2. planned housing developments within the Infrastructure Plan for the medium term, 2029 to 2039 and longer term, beyond 2039. The potential impact of those developments on secondary places has been partially captured in the 2028 / 2029 and 2029 / 2030 data within the SCAP.

Impact of Housing Developments on Primary Places

Area 1 - South Shields North

Impact of planned housing developments up to 2028

Planned developments of 62 dwellings would give a yield of an additional 16 primary pupils requiring school places.

Action(s) required: This development is in the south of the planning area with closest school operating at full capacity. The other schools within the planning area with sufficient vacancies to accommodate the increase in demand for places, although there is pressure on places in current Year 3, are some distance from the development. Notwithstanding the pressure on places for current Year 3 pupils, there is sufficient capacity, in terms of available primary places, within the schools in this planning area.

Impact of planned housing developments from 2038

There is sufficient capacity, in terms of available primary places, within the schools in this planning area for the period 2028 - 2033, therefore the additional demand can be met.

Action(s) required: No action required

Area 2 - South Shields East

Impact of planned housing developments up to 2028

The planned developments of 260 dwellings in the north of this planning area would give a yield of an additional 65 primary pupils requiring school places.

There are very limited available school places in the closest schools to the proposed development, with no school having vacancies in every year group. Projections on the impact on demand for primary places shows that additional primary places will be required.

Action(s) required: To accommodate the increased demand for school places as a result of the proposed development, an increase in the capacity at one of the schools in, or close to, the planning area by an additional half form of entry, i.e. 105 additional places is required

Impact of planned housing developments from 2028 - 2033

Planned developments of 12 dwellings in the south of this planning area would give a yield of an additional 3 primary pupils requiring school places.

Action(s) required: If expansion is carried out to accommodate the increase in demand for places from 2023 - 2028, there will be sufficient capacity within schools in the planning area to meet the additional demand for places.

Area 3 - South Shields West

Impact of planned housing developments up to 2028 and 2028-2033

Planned developments over the next decade have been considered together to assess the impact on school places. From 2023 - 2028, there are no planned developments in the north of this planning area and 311 planned developments in the south, which would give a yield of 78 additional primary pupils requiring school places. From 2028-2033, planned developments of 179 dwellings in the north and 22 in the south of this planning area would give a yield of an additional 45 and 6 primary pupils, respectively, requiring school places. There is limited capacity in most year groups in the schools in the north area of the planning area, and very limited capacity in Year 3.

Action(s) required: Depending on future birth rates it may be necessary to increase the capacity at one of the schools within the vicinity of the planned developments by an additional half form of entry, i.e. 105 additional places.

Impact of planned housing developments from 2033

Planned developments of 16 dwellings in the north and 25 in the south of this planning area would give a yield of an additional 4 and 7 primary pupils, respectively, requiring school places.

Action(s) required: If expansion is carried out to accommodate the increase in demand for places from 2028-2033, there will be sufficient capacity within schools in the planning area to meet the additional demand for places.

Area 4 - Jarrow

Impact of planned housing developments up to 2028

Planned developments of 40 dwellings in the north and 8 in the south of this planning area would give a yield of an additional 10 and 2 primary pupils, respectively, requiring school places. There is therefore no significant impact on demand for school places in this area up to 2028.

Action(s) required: No action required

Impact of planned housing developments from 2028 - 2033

Planned developments of 15 dwellings in the north, 44 dwellings in the east, none in the west and 1,200 dwellings in the south of this planning area would give a yield of an additional 4,11 and 300 primary pupils, respectively, requiring school places.

It is projected that the additional pupils in the north and east could be accommodated within existing schools. However, notwithstanding the available places in the south of this planning area, the 300 additional places needed in the south, from one proposed development site, would require additional places.

Action(s) required: Based on current and projected vacancies, a minimum of the equivalent of a one form entry school. i.e. 210 additional places would be needed to supplement the places available in existing schools. This would require a new primary school to be established within the south of this planning area. If the size of the proposed development is increased and/or the number of places available reduces, this would require a one and a half form entry school i.e. 315 additional places.

Area 5 - Hebburn

Impact of planned housing developments up to 2028

There are no planned developments in this planning area.

Action(s) required: No action required

Impact of planned housing developments from 2028 - 2033

Planned developments of 110 dwellings in the north and 115 in the south of this planning area would give a yield of an additional 28 and 29 primary pupils, respectively, requiring school places. The schools within the vicinity of the planned developments in the north of this area are operating at full capacity, and in some year groups over capacity.

Action(s) required: There is sufficient capacity to accommodate the development in the south of the planning area but, depending on the birth rate, it may be necessary to increase the capacity at one of the schools in the north of the planning area by an additional half form of entry, i.e. 105 additional places to accommodate the additional demand for places.

Impact of planned housing developments beyond 2033

Planned developments of 46 dwellings in the north of this planning area would give a yield of and 12 additional primary pupils requiring school places.

Depending on the birth rate, and if capacity in the north is increased, as set out above, it is assumed that the additional pupils could be accommodated within existing schools.

Action(s) required: No action required

Area 6 - The Villages

Impact of planned housing developments up to 2028

There are no planned developments in this planning area up to 2025.

Action(s) required: No action required

Impact of planned housing developments from 2028-2033

Planned developments of 71 dwellings in the Whitburn area, 259 dwellings in the Cleadon area and 663 dwellings in the Boldons area of this planning area would give a yield of an additional 18, 65 and 166 primary pupils, respectively, requiring school places.

The schools in the Whitburn area have very little capacity in most year groups, with little flexibility for any in-year applications. Schools in the Cleadon area are operating at full capacity and in some year groups are over capacity. In the Boldons area only one school has spare capacity in every year group and overall there is insufficient spare capacity to meet the increased demand for places from planned developments.

Action(s) required: Depending on the birth rate, the additional places required in the Whitburn area could potentially be accommodated in the current schools. Expansion of an additional half form of entry, i.e. 105 additional places in the Cleadon area and expansion of existing school(s) in the Boldons area by an additional half form of entry, i.e. 105 additional places is required, to give an additional 210 additional places in total in this planning area

Impacts of Housing Developments on Secondary Places

The borough previously operated a single planning area for the whole of the secondary sector, which masked shortfalls in particular areas. Following an application to DfE to split the area into three Planning areas for the secondary sector, approval was given on 2 February 2021.

The 2021 SCAP return is the first one to be completed using the new planning areas and has helped to focus on projected shortfalls in places in Planning area 7.

Offering diversity of secondary places to parents can be challenging, with three of the eight secondary schools being faith schools. Area 8, which has three secondary schools, is particularly challenging in that the majority of the available places to offer to parents where preferences cannot be met at entry year are in the RC VA school within that planning area.

There has been pressure on places in Planning area 7 for some time. However, previously the single secondary planning area masked the position in this area. The split into three secondary planning areas now makes it possible to demonstrate the pressure on places in the three schools in this planning area, in every year going forward. As a result of the new reporting, funding for basic need was awarded and will be used to expand a secondary school within the planning area by 110 places.

Housing for asylum seekers and refugee families is in the main located within this planning area, therefore there is a current and future additional pressure on school places.

In the past, places have been offered at a school within Planning area 9 to relieve the pressure on places in Planning area 7. However, applications for that school are steadily increasing, therefore, alongside significant plans for housing development in the area, that position is not sustainable longer term.

Area 7 - North and East

Impact of planned housing developments up to 2028

Planned developments of 633 dwellings in this planning area would give a yield of an additional 79 secondary pupils requiring school places. Additional places will be needed to accommodate the increase in demand for secondary school places.

Impact of planned housing developments from 2028 - 2033

Planned developments of 341 dwellings in this planning area would give a yield of an additional 43 secondary pupils requiring school places.

Impact of planned housing developments beyond 2033

Planned developments of 66 dwellings in this planning area would give a yield of 8 additional secondary pupils requiring school places.

Because of the pressure on places in this planning area, with little capacity in most schools, currently and forecasted, it is necessary to plan for the combined pressure of 130 additional places

Action(s) required from 2023 to 2028 and beyond: The planned expansion of 110 places to Mortimer Community College, phased from 2023, will alleviate pressure on basic need and in-year applications for places in the future. However, the impact of the housing developments will add further pressure therefore to meet the increased demand for school places, due to planned housing developments in this area, 150 additional places i.e. 30 per year group, to an existing school would be required.

Area 8 - Hebburn/Jarrow

Impact of planned housing developments up to 2028

Planned developments of 48 dwellings in this planning area would give a yield of an additional 6 secondary pupils requiring school places.

Impact of planned housing developments from 2028 - 2033

Planned developments of 1,484 dwellings in this planning area would give a yield of an additional 186 secondary pupils requiring school places.

Impact of planned housing developments beyond 2033

Planned developments of 48 dwellings in this planning area would give a yield of 6 additional secondary pupils requiring school places.

Action(s) required from 2023 to 2028 and beyond: Because of the pressure on places in this planning area, with all three schools having no, or little capacity in the lower year groups and all three having limited capacity in most other year groups, it is necessary to plan for the combined pressure of 198 additional places.

The 1,580 proposed dwellings, from 2023, in this planning area, includes a single development of 1,200 dwellings in the south of the Jarrow area. This will impact on school places in that area, with an additional 198 places required to meet the increase in demand in this area.

Allowing for limited vacancies in the three schools currently, an expansion of 150 additional places i.e. 30 per year group, to an existing school would be required to meet the additional demand for places.

Area 9 - South

Impact of planned housing developments up to 2028

There are no planned developments in this planning area.

Impact of planned housing developments from 2028 - 2033

Planned developments of 993 dwellings in this planning area would give a yield of an additional 124 secondary pupils requiring school places.

In the shorter term, the data suggests there are sufficient places within this planning area, albeit very tight in most entry years. However, applications for the school currently providing ‘overspill’ places for area 7 are steadily increasing, therefore, alongside the significant plans for housing development in the area, that position is not sustainable longer term.

Impact of planned housing developments beyond 2033

There are no planned developments in this planning area.

Action(s) required from 2023 to 2028 and beyond: There is little spare capacity in schools within this planning area, with the lower year groups having minimal spare capacity available. To ensure increased demand can be met in all year groups, expansion of 150 additional places i.e. 30 per year group, to an existing school in this planning area would be required to meet the additional demand for places.

Impacts of Housing Developments on Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Places

The local authority has a duty to secure sufficient education and training provision for young people with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, up to the age of 25.

The local authority would seek developer contributions for SEND provision in direct proportion to the needs arising from planned housing developments, applying the same principle to SEND provision as to mainstream. As there is no standard capacity assessment applicable to special schools and other types of non-mainstream education, as their ability to accommodate pupils depends on the specific needs of each child. However, an increase in housing will lead to an increase in SEND, and we would seek developer contributions for all special school / SEN places generated by a development, where there is a need for additional SEND provision. Identifying whether a housing development would lead to an increase in demand for SEND places, whether in a special school or other provisions, will be assessed as planning applications are received.

Impacts of Housing Developments on Early Years School Provision

While many early years settings fall within the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector, the Childcare Acts 2006 and 2016 place a duty on the local authority to ensure sufficient early years childcare provision. The DfE has scaled up state-funded early years places since 2010, including the introduction of funding for eligible 2 year olds and the 30 hours funded childcare offer for 3-4 year olds. The take-up has been high, increasing demand for early years provision. All new primary schools are now expected to include a nursery. Developer contributions have a role to play in helping to fund additional nursery places required as a result of housing growth, however they may be provided, where these are proposed as part of school expansions or new schools. Projecting sufficiency of early years places is challenging in that the PVI sector is able to increase or decrease provision to suit their business plans and it is therefore beyond local authority control. The local authority therefore carries out regular audits of early years provision to ensure sufficiency of places across the Borough and the impact of housing developments is considered as planning permissions are sought for housing developments.

Funding Additional School Places

The two main mechanisms for funding additional school places are:

1. Basic Need Funding (Calculated and distributed by DfE)
2. Contributions from housing developers where proposed developments increase the demand for school places and there is a need to establish additional places

Basic Need Funding

Basic need allocations are made to local authorities (LAs) to support the capital requirement for providing new pupil places by expanding existing maintained schools, free schools, or academies, and by establishing new schools. This is non-ringfenced capital funding that is not time-bound, so that local authorities can make the best decisions for their local area. The basic need allocations are based principally on data collected from LAs in the School Capacity Survey (SCAP), referred to above. This survey collects information on the capacities of schools in each planning area of each LA, and LAs’ forecasts of pupil numbers for several years ahead.

Basic need funding is allocated on the basis of a comparison of school capacity against forecast mainstream pupil numbers from reception year to year 11, uplifted to provide a 2 per cent operating margin. The 2 per cent uplift in pupil forecasts is designed to provide an operating margin for local authorities. This helps to support parental choice, pupil population movement, and general manageability of the system. Where pupil forecasts exceed available capacity, this is considered to be a ‘shortfall’. Conversely any surplus in capacity beyond those uplifted forecasts is counted as ‘zero’, meaning spare places are not used to offset shortfalls elsewhere (such as in another planning area or another year group). Shortfalls are aggregated for each year group, in each planning area, to give an overall total of additional places needed. This produces a ‘raw shortfall’, a total figure that measures the gap in places between the assessment of capacity based on SCAP, and forecasts of pupil numbers.

In recent years, there has been significant investment in the Council’s leisure and library stock. Forming an integral part of the Council’s master Regeneration Plan, the investment has been directed towards providing unique, vibrant, high quality, affordable and accessible facilities.

The facilities are viewed not only as safe social spaces and areas where individuals can improve their health and fitness, but they are also seen as key gateways to our foreshore, towns and transport links; driving tourism and the wider economy.

Strategy

Our strategic approach has been one of downsizing underutilised stock through community asset transfer, whilst creating a core group of top quality facilities in geographically balanced locations.

In terms of asset development, some of our major improvement projects in recent years include:

• 2013 – Opening of Haven Point (new build leisure complex, South Shields).
• 2015 – Opening of Hebburn Central (new build community hub, Hebburn).
• 2016 – Opening of The Word (new build national centre for the written word, South Shields).
• 2019 – Opening of Jarrow Focus (refurbished community hub, Jarrow).

Wherever possible the space within the above buildings has been used to support shared services, touch down zones and the provision of private sector business opportunities.

Priorities for Investment

South Tyneside has good leisure and library offer for which the priority is now ensuring maintenance maintain to a high standard. It is not anticipated that there will be a requirement to expand it over and above the current footprint and as such planning/development needs are minimal at this time. Moving forward there are no current plans for development in terms of more, or extended facilities. Any increase in customer demand will be met at existing sites through the provision of refreshed programmes and upgraded equipment.

In addition to the Council’s Transport, Ecology, Asset Management, Environmental Protection, School Places Planning and Public Health teams, other external organisations have also contributed information in the development of the IDP and key contacts are listed below.

The appended schedule detail infrastructure programmes, projects and initiatives according to their respective category. They are prioritised according to the following criteria:

• Essential - Projects which are key to facilitating development.
• Desirable - Projects which are of value in meetings the needs of the community.

Details are provided in respect of the timescale for delivery, broad cost estimate, potential delivery lead/development partners and potential funding source(s).

Secondary numbers updated for September 2023