Local Development Scheme for South Tyneside

Councils must prepare and keep updated development plan documents known as ‘Local Plans’. These documents set a framework for how areas will grow and change over 15-20 years and provide the starting point in determining all planning applications.

Councils are also required to produce a Local Development Scheme (LDS) under section 15 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011). The Local Development Scheme must specify the documents which when prepared will comprise the local development documents for the area.

Accordingly, this Local Development Scheme provides information on:

• The development plan document(s) we will prepare over the next 3 years (i.e. 2024-2027)
• The subject matter of those documents and the geographical area they cover
• The timetable for the preparation and adoption of those documents

This Local Development Scheme replaces the Council’s last LDS which was adopted in October 2023.

Current Development Plan

Planning legislation requires all local planning authorities to produce what is called a ‘Development Plan’. Our current development plan comprises several documents that were adopted in accordance with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

There are two ‘made’ Neighbourhood Plans within South Tyneside:

• East Boldon Neighbourhood Plan
• Whitburn Village Neighbourhood Plan

Each neighbourhood plan forms part of the Development Plan for the Borough; however, as they are not prepared by the Council they are not considered in detail within this document.

Moving Towards a New Local Plan

The South Tyneside Development Plan is made up of two Local Plan Documents prepared by South Tyneside Council:

• The South Tyneside Local Plan
• The International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) Area Action Plan

And two made neighbourhood plans:

• East Boldon Neighbourhood Plan
• Whitburn Village Neighbourhood Plan

South Tyneside Local Plan

The South Tyneside Local Plan will:

• Set the need for our future housing, employment and retail and allocate those sites needed.
• Addresses future infrastructure requirements such as transport, telecommunications, waste management, water supply, flooding and coastal change, and the provision of minerals
• Make provision for community facilities, such as health, education and cultural infrastructure
• Address climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the conservation and enhancement of the natural, built and historic environments, including landscape and green infrastructure

Once adopted the Local Plan will supersede all documents listed above except for the IAMP AAP and Made Neighbourhood Plans.

The International Advanced Manufacturing Park Area Action Plan

The International Advanced Manufacturing Park Area Action Plan is a cross-boundary plan with Sunderland City Council, which establishes a framework for development within its boundary. As the IAMP AAP was adopted on 30 November 2017 a review of this plan was undertaken in October 2022. This review concluded that, at that point in time, the policies of the AAP remained effective and consistent with national policy.

Notwithstanding the above, both Sunderland and South Tyneside have now committed to preparing a new AAP which upon adoption would replace the current IAMP AAP. Further details are provided in Section 3.

Other Policy Documents

Supplementary Planning Documents

Supplementary Planning Documents are intended to expand upon or provide further details to policies in the Local Plan. Supplementary Planning Documents are not subject to examination but are adopted by the Council, having been informed by community and stakeholder involvement in their preparation. Once adopted, Supplementary Planning Documents will form part of the Local Plan as non-statutory documents.

Statement of Community Involvement (SCI)

The Council must also produce a Statement of Community Involvement setting out how it intends to consult and involve the community in the preparation and review of local development documents and in development management decisions. The SCI was last updated in 2022.

Authority Monitoring Report

The Annual Monitoring Report assesses whether policies, targets and milestones have been met and will inform the review of the Local Development Scheme.

Neighbourhood Plans

Neighbourhood Plans were introduced through the Localism Act 2011. These are community-led frameworks that guide the future development and growth of an area whilst conforming to the strategic policies of the adopted Local Plan. Neighbourhood Plans once “made” (i.e. approved via a community referendum) will be adopted as part of the overall development plan.

To date, two Neighbourhood Forums have been designated for East Boldon and Whitburn. Both the East Boldon Neighbourhood Plan and Whitburn Village Neighbourhood Plan have been ‘made’. Neighbourhood Plans sit and work alongside our own Local Plan and form part of the Development Plan. Neighbourhood Plans are prepared independently and are excluded from this Local Development Scheme. However, the Council will continue to work with and support those respective Neighbourhood Forums (and others) that want to pursue Neighbourhood Plans.

South Tyneside Local Plan 2023 - 2040

Local Plan Timeline

New International Advanced Manufacturing Park Area Action Plan

New International Advanced Manufacturing Park Area Action Plan timetable

Supplementary Planning Documents

A number of SPDs will be prepared to support adopted policies within the Local Plan. A review of SPD’s will take place once the Local Plan is adopted. Please note that the council may seek to prepare additional SPDs in the future, at which stage this LDS will be updated to reflect this.

Monitoring

The Council’s Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) will assess on an annual basis progress against this Local Development Scheme. Furthermore, the AMR will also assess the extent to which the new Local Plan policies are delivering their intended purpose when measured against related targets, i.e.

• Have targets either been met or are on schedule to be achieved; or if not
• Consider the introduction of certain contingency measures.

The National Planning Policy Framework requires us to assess the Plan’s strategic policies at least once every 5 years post adoption, including a new timetable for when any necessary alterations will be brought forward.

Wider mechanisms also exist that may trigger a change to the Local Development Scheme:

• The Secretary of State can intervene where councils are failing to bring plans forward quickly enough or even direct councils to amend their Local Development Scheme to accelerate plan production
• The Government’s new Housing Delivery Test imposes a series of remedial actions on councils where delivery falls below certain thresholds.

It is essential that our Local Development Scheme remains challenging enough to meet the Government’s agenda on plan production whilst remaining realistic against the available resources and issues we must address.

Management

Cabinet meets monthly and oversees the Plan’s preparation, approving documents for consultation. The power to approve the Plan’s adoption lies with Full Council. Management is overseen by our Director for Place and Communities and Senior Manager-Planning. Day to day management is undertaken by the Spatial Planning Team. Specialist expertise from wider teams from across the Council including Highways and Engineering, Environmental Health, Asset Management and Countryside support the production of the Plan. We have and will continue to use external advice to support the preparation of the evidence and studies.

Budget

Budgetary requirements are monitored in line with our existing corporate budgetary processes.

Governance

Regular briefings will be provided to the Council’s Chief officers to ensure that the preparation of the Local Plan helps to deliver corporate priorities. Key elected Members such as the Housing and Regeneration Portfolio Holder will be briefed, as appropriate.

Evidence Preparation

The complex nature of the Local Plan means that external advice and evidence preparation will continue to be required at all stages of plan preparation. The engagement of these services will be undertaken in accordance with the Council’s established procurement processes.

Risk Assessment

To ensure that we can deliver our Plan in accordance with this Local Development Scheme, the following risk assessment offers a range of contingency actions to minimise the impact of those risks should they arise.