2012
Before starting work on River Quay the Port of Tyne had to get Readhead’s Landing closed and find a new home for Tyne Slipway & Engineering or face a very legitimate complaint i.e. closing off the navigation to a Tyne slipway and rendering it useless. These were done through Parliament and basically the Council took the right of way to Readheads’ Landing from the Public and the Agent for this was the Principal Planning Officer, Mr Peter Cunningham.
Control of the Tyne Dock slipway business was moved to UK Docks who had taken over the Tyne Slipway on River Drive, NE33 and the again the move was enablelled through the agency of the Principal Planning Officer for South Tyneside Council.
Meanwhile UK Docks were arranging for a move to River Drive but to do that that they needed a shed that could accommodate the ferries and an overhead crane or their business would not be viable. To do this they had to avoid any review of the plans.
Due process started on the closure of Readhead’s Landing on 21 February 2012
Application submitted by:
Storeys Edward Symmons;
Application Number: ST/0199/13/FUL
Case Officer: Peter Cunningham.
2013
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 7-May | Readhead’s Landing Permission Granted for Change of use from slipway to form part of the Port and erection of a fence across the entrance. |
| 15-Aug | Readhead’s Landing is finally closed. The second problem for the Port of Tyne was solved by the Council allowing the business on Commercial Road (Tyne Dock) to move to the inappropriate site of Tyne Slipways Limited, South Shields on River Drive in South Shields, from now on known as, UK Docks: |
| Sepember | UK Docks appears. |
| 5-Sep | Expansion of Facilities of the UK Docks site at River Drive begins and a largely Romanian crew, according to people living within earshot, erect a structure of five large frames on the 2001 foundations. There are many complaints and it might be worth pursuing this under the Freedom of Information Act to find out how many but for the time being there is the South Shields Gazette 09/09/13 and 10/9/13. |
| 6.9.13 | STC Planning received drawings from the developers and forward them to the residents a few days later. They also put them on the Planning Portal ref: ST1146/13/COND. There is no evidence of approval being given on any of these plans. Plan Side Elevation & 8296/1B and notes on them. They also forward a copy of the Grant of Permission (plain copy) which includes some particulars of decision and reasons for them: 1. As required by section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. 2. To ensure that the development shall not vary from the approved plans. 3. To ensure a satisfactory form of development in the interests of the visual amenity of the area. 4 & 5 In the interests of the amenity of the surrounding area, which includes residential and tourism/leisure related uses. |
| 09.09.13 | Shed reported to be 36ft(11m) high. Gazette10/09/13. Question “Has the revised height of 15.5metres been approved or is it in breach of the 1996 Planning approval?” not answered. Referral by Case officer to complaints. |
| 10.09.13 | Shields Gazette repeats that the shed is 36ft (11m) high and work started in 2001. See article 10/9/13. It failed to report that it was also nearly a meter too wide. See road end details and note that the 12.5m should be pointing to the top not to the hip. The road end dimensions are not been corrected. |
| 23.09.13 11:00 |
Site is closed. No sign of builders plant on site. Construction appears to have been suspended. It was not resumed until December. |
| September | Many letters of objection to the council about the slipway shed. (example) and the subjects included:- What is going on and why weren’t residents informed. Little or no information on the Planning Portal. Concerns about the height of the structure. Environmental concerns. Noise when in use. Does not appear to fit in with any strategy plans. This was to become the basis for our Petition six months later. |
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| 7.10.13 | Meeting of more than 20 residents from mainly Greens Place and Harbour View over concerns about the shed’s size, location etc. is convened in Littlehaven Hotel Lounge. Recommendation that individuals initiate complaint procedure with the Council. General agreement that the Tyne Gateway Association (TGA) should be contacted to handle this. Transpires that his was a retrograde step. |
| 14 October 2013 South Tyneside Council as Local Planning Authority resolved to approve ST114613COND Decision Notice.pdf 18 days after submission on the 27th Sept. It took another four more months for the Council to admit that the shelter was not built to plan. Reference drawing of strip curtain doors- fixing details. | |
| 07.11.13 | Paper by resident of Harbour View on Planning Application ST/0242/96UD for the meeting View Paper |
| 09.11.13 | TGA reconvened at a most irregular meeting. The ballot for the Chairman, for instance was held while both candidates were in the room. We were not able to discuss the suitability of the Chairman for the post and he was returned. It came to pass that his actions proved he was probably not fit for the post as he was a procurement officer for HB Hydraulics |
| 25.11.13 | Town Hall Meeting – the TGA were told by the Principal Planning Officer of South Tyneside council that the shed was ‘legal’ per plans seen. |
| 25.11.13 | Meeting of the Committee of the TGA to discuss outcome of Town Hall Meeting. |
| 27.11.13 | MD requested a copy of the drawing that had been on the table at the meeting but was sent 8296/1B, the drawing on the planning portal when it went down. He then determined the width of the frames are a meter wider than planned. The shed has not been built to plans ‘seen’. |
| 10.12.2013 | The Planning Portal is back after being down since the 25th Nov and there is a ST114613COND Decision Notice.pdf and new drawing ST114613COND Details 300913.pdf with the planning application: Drawing 8296/1B had been removed. The new drawing confirms the planned width of 12.2m and by inference (gradient of 2.656m) a planned height of the road end of 12.5 – 13m. |
| 16.12.2013 | Email to Cllr Anglin about the width of the shed being a meter wider than planned. Not as we had been told by the Principal Planning Officer in November. |
| 20.12.13 | After much correspondence (Nov and Dec) with the Principal Planning Officer and the Councillor, a copy of the authorised plan had still not been received. The correspondence about this lasted till 20th Dec when it was closed by him but did include drawing 8296/1A. |
| 20-21 Dec.13 |
A few hours after the attempt by the Case Officer to close down the discussion, on what was planned (approved or authorised) and what was built, a ‘restraining order’ arrived from the Chair of the TGA |
and so to the new year 2014.