Plans for up to 130 new homes in Felling have been approved despite objections from Gateshead Football Club. This morning, Gateshead council’s planning and development committee approved plans for a new housing development on now vacant land at Church Place in Felling. The scheme forms part of other Gateshead Regeneration Partnership (GRP) projects which aim to tackle the housing need in the area.
Development Details
The site will now comprise a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom houses. Four of those houses, or 3.1% of all the proposed units, will be classed as affordable. While this is under the usual 15% required for a scheme of this size, other projects from GRP will make up the difference across multiple sites including Brandling, Beacon Lough, Dixon Street, and Elizabethville. The scheme would deliver 81 dwellings with three or more bedrooms, representing around 63% of the development, and therefore a significant proportion of family housing.
Football Club's Objection
However, Gateshead Football Club lodged an objection to the homes. According to council documents, the club opposed the plans due to the loss of open space and lost sporting opportunities. The council’s report states: “The representation refers to a separate proposal by the Football Club to secure the site for community use and highlights the potential social, health and community benefits that such an alternative use could deliver.” The report went on to state that the club did not submit a “detailed or deliverable” proposal for the land in question but only a “potential future aspiration”.
Following some questions from committee members to officers, the recommendations to grant the proposals were approved unanimously by councillors.
