1. Site Context and Background
Avant Homes
Avant Homes is an award-winning housebuilder, with a track record of delivering quality housing developments across the North East and the wider North of England and Scotland. At Avant Homes, we pride ourselves on discovering better ways to design and deliver homes for all the community.
What Are We Consulting On?
Avant Homes is in the process of preparing a full planning application for a residential redevelopment of the South Tyneside College Westoe Campus site. The application will seek planning permission to build 260 high quality homes on site which is north of Grosvenor Road and east of St George’s Avenue.
The Site and Surroundings
The site which is located c. 1 mile south of South Shields Town Centre is c. 9.36 hectares in size. The site is the Westoe Campus for South Tyneside College and there are a range of education and administrative buildings on-site along with the Dr Winterbottom Halls of Residence. These buildings date from the 1950s and 1960s and are of a large scale and mass.
Currently, access to the College is from Grosvenor Road and St George’s Avenue with parking for approximately 420 cars on-site
There are private playing fields located in the south east of the site. There are a number of individual trees and groups of trees on the site.
The surrounding area is predominantly residential with a mix of bungalows, flats and houses. There is the Westoe Village Conservation Area to the north and large areas of high-quality open space in the locality.
Figure 1 1 Existing Site Layout and Surrounding Area
Figure 1.3: View East Along Grosvenor Road from Junction with St George’s Avenue
Figure 1.2: Existing College Buildings Viewed from St George’s Avenue
Figure 1.4: View West of College Frontage along Grosvenor Road
2. College Relocation Proposals
Why is the College Vacating the Site?
The College has an Estates Strategy which endeavours to enable the College’s estate, infrastructure, and facility management services to be developed and operated as efficiently as possible in support of the College’s Curriculum Strategy.
The Estate Strategy identified that £15m would be required over 10 years to ensure buildings at the Westoe Campus are in a condition expected of a modern teaching and learning environment. Alternatively, replacing the Campus buildings would require a capital investment of £25m. These are not feasible options and therefore an option to relocate the Campus and use the capital receipt from the sale of the existing site towards funding the relocation was selected as the preferred approach.
Where is the College Relocating to?
The ambitious project is a once-in-a-generation £50m project which will see the relocation of the South Tyneside campus of the award-winning College (including the internationally-respected Marine School) from its current site outside South Shields into the heart of the Town Centre and adjacent to a new transport interchange.
How is the Relocation being Funded and What are the Benefits?
The project is being part funded by the receipts of the sale of the existing College site, which is to be redeveloped for housing. Alongside this, funding has been secured from the Government’s Department for Education, with full backing for the project.
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.
Figure 2 2: Visualisation of Proposed Town Centre Campus
Figure 2.1: Existing College and Proposed Town Centre Campus Locations
3. Site Constraints and Opportunities
The constraints and opportunities across the site have been carefully considered by our team of experts to ensure that the proposed redevelopment responds to the local context and protects important features. This has included considering key matters such as heritage, arboriculture, landscape, biodiversity, design, drainage, highways and pedestrian access, and adjacent land uses.
Constraints
• Existing residential properties are adjacent to and overlook the site.
• Heritage assets to the north including Listed Buildings and the Westoe Village Conservation Area.
• Tree Preservation Order covering a proportion of trees on the site.
Opportunities
• Existing vehicular accesses to Grosvenor Road and St George’s Avenue can be retained.
• Site is close to services and public transport connections and opportunities to improve connections to the surrounding area
• Removal of large College buildings offer the opportunity to create new active street frontages to Grosvenor Road and St George’s Avenue.
Figure 3 1: Site Constraints and Opportunities
2 3 7 4 6 1 5 1 2 3 4 7 6 5
4. Proposed Site Layout
ATTENUATION BASIN
Trees Retained Site Access PHASE 2 Site Access PHASE 2 Site Access PHASE 1 ATTENUATION BASIN
Trees Retained Existing Trees Retained New Pedestrian / Cycle Access New Pedestrian / Cycle Access Existing Trees Retained Central Tree Lined Street Pedestrian / Cycle Connections Sections of Raised Carriageway to Help 20mph Limit New Tree Planting on Grosvenor Road Frontage New Pedestrian / Cycle Access New Pedestrian / Cycle Access Careful Consideration of Relationship to Westoe Village Conservation Area Figure
Site Layout
Surrounding Area
Existing
Existing
4 1: Proposed
and
5. Proposed Redevelopment
The Scheme
The proposed redevelopment includes the provision for 260 new homes, associated access, landscaping, engineering and infrastructure works. The points below identify the key elements of the scheme:
• Inclusivity through the provision of a range of 2, 3, 4 and 5 bedroom detached, semi-detached and terraced dwellings with private gardens, designed to meet the needs of all the community, including first-time buyers, young and growing families and downsizers.
• Phased redevelopment beginning on the east of the site to enable the College to remain operational on part of the site until functions can decant to its new replacement facilities..
• A redevelopment making use of high-quality design features and modern materials to create energy efficient homes built in accordance with the latest Building Regulations and which respect and enhance the character and setting of the surrounding area including the adjacent heritage assets in the Westoe Village Conservation Area
• The provision of a considered structural landscaping scheme, including the retention of existing trees and landscape features where possible, with additional tree planting, and other valued habitats to deliver biodiversity net gains.
• Provision of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) to manage surface water drainage from the site to greenfield runoff rates.
• Vehicular access from both Grosvenor Road and St George’s Avenue with an internal road layout designed to a safe and recommended 20mph speed limit.
• Pedestrian and cycle connections within, to and from the site to promote walking and cycling.
• Dedicated off-street parking with electric vehicle charge points for every house. Visitor parking spaces will also be provided throughout the redevelopment
Avant Homes street scene images for illustration purposes
6. Scheme Benefits and Next Steps
Environmental Benefits
The redevelopment will give rise to the following environmental benefits:
• Redevelopment of a brownfield site within South Tyneside.
• The application site is accessible by a range of modes of transport. A Travel Plan will be created to encourage travel by cycling, walking and public transport.
• Each new dwelling will be provided with an electric vehicle charge point.
• Delivery of development within an area of low flood risk.
• Ecological enhancement for existing and new species.
• Retention of a significant proportion of trees on the site.
• Additional hedgerow, tree planting, wildflower meadows, and other valued habitats which will deliver a biodiversity net gain.
• There are no significant concerns in respect of archaeology, heritage, land contamination, noise, or air quality that would result in the reduction of environmental quality.
Social Benefits
The redevelopment will give rise to the following social benefits:
• The proposals will facilitate the relocation of the College to a new state of the art facility in South Shields Town Centre which will benefit students and staff.
• The scheme will deliver a mix of new homes suitable to meet the needs of all the community, including first-time buyers, young and growing families and downsizers.
• The redevelopment will help address the undersupply of housing in South Tyneside, and across the UK.
• As part of the College relocation off-site sports pitch improvements will be delivered.
Economic Benefits
The scheme will provide various economic benefits which include:
• Additional expenditure on local goods and services in the area, helping to support the viability and vitality of local businesses.
• Construction of the redevelopment will deliver a range of direct and indirect skilled and semi-skilled construction jobs on-site.
• Additional Council Tax payments to be invested back into local services and facilities.
Next Steps
Thank you for taking the time to visit the exhibition event today and we hope you have found it helpful. If you have any questions, please ask one of our team.
Avant Homes is committed to engaging with the local community about its proposals and would like to hear your views on this scheme. Please could you take a moment to record your feedback on one of the feedback forms and then pass it to a member of our team.
Alternatively, you can submit your feedback through the following channels:
• By email: northeast.planning@avanthomes.co.uk
• By post: Regional Planning Manager, Avant Homes North East, Investor House, Colima Avenue, Sunderland Enterprise Park, Sunderland, SR5 3XB
We are currently looking to submit a planning application to South Tyneside Council in late summer 2023. We would therefore be grateful if you can provide your responses no later than the 25 August 2023.
