Public Consultation – Miller Homes Proposals for South Tyneside College
Hedley Planning Services are preparing a planning application, on behalf of Miller Homes, to vary the existing planning permission for the residential redevelopment of the South Tyneside College Westoe Campus site, which is north of Grosvenor Road and east of St George’s Avenue.
Miller Homes is committed to delivering this important development for South Tyneside, which will part fund the relocation of South Tyneside College. The relocation will create a modern College (and student accommodation) fit for the 21st Century and catalyse the existing regeneration activities of South Tyneside Council, which is working closely with the College, and provide expert skills provision to over 9,000 students, whose new footfall will help revitalise the High Street.
The proposed planning application will be a ‘Variation of condition’ submission, under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended). South Tyneside Council will also be carrying out a statutory consultation process for the planning application.
Background
The site was previously the subject of a full planning application submitted by Avant Homes in 2023, which sought consent for 260 residential dwellings. That scheme established the principle of residential development on the site and was supported by a comprehensive suite of technical and design information.
Following the submission of the 2023 scheme, Miller Homes has undertaken a detailed review of the site and the previous design approach. This review considered the site’s physical characteristics, planning context and opportunities for refinement, alongside the desire to deliver a high-quality residential environment with a strong sense of place. The current proposals retain the fundamental principles established through the Avant Homes scheme but introduce a series of measured changes aimed at improving overall design quality and site responsiveness. The most significant of these changes is the reduction in dwelling numbers from 260 to 198, which has informed subsequent decisions relating to layout, density, landscape and scale. The revised scheme represents an evolution rather than a replacement of the previous proposals, using the 2023 submission as a foundation while responding more positively to the site’s context and constraints.
Proposed Development
The application will substitute to the previously approved house types with Miller Homes house types, for a scheme of 198 high quality homes. The scheme will include:
- A range of 3, 4 and 5 bedroom semi-detached and detached dwellings, with private gardens, designed to meet the needs of the community.
- Phased redevelopment beginning on the east of the site to enable the College to remain operational on part of the site until the functions can decant to the new facilities in the town centre.
- Retention of the approved road pattern, apart from at the western entrance from St George’s Avenue, where amendments have been made to allow the retention of a number of grade A2 trees.
- Provision of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDs) to manage surface water drainage from the site to greenfield runoff rates.
- Dedicated off-street parking with electric vehicle charging points for every house, along with visitor parking spaces throughout the proposed development.
The revised Miller Homes scheme has been developed in accordance with the character areas and placemaking principles established within the 2023 submission. These principles have been retained and refined through further design development, ensuring continuity with the earlier proposals while allowing for improvements in layout, density and landscape integration.
The scheme continues to be structured around three distinct but complementary character areas: Green Edge, Heritage and Urban. Each character area responds to its immediate context and performs a specific role within the overall layout, supporting legibility, variety and a strong sense of place.
Consultation
Your views are important and will continue to be valuable as the planning application progresses.
Miller Homes are committed to engaging with the local community about its proposals and would like to hear your views on this scheme.
We have a survey (as linked below) to provide your response to the public consultation. The feedback will be collated and shared with the team who will then address matters accordingly.
Click HERE to view the survey
Alternatively, please provide feedback by –
Email: Niamh@hedleyplanning.co.uk
Post: Hedley Planning Services Unit 3, Hexham Enterprise Hub, Burn Lane, Hexham, NE46 3HY
