Persimmon has filed revised plans for Murton Gap and admits the scheme misses the new national density rule near Metro stations. Comments close 31 October.

Persimmon Homes has filed a new set of revised plans for Murton Gap, its scheme for up to 2,700 homes on the farmland between Monkseaton, Shiremoor and New York. The council re-advertised the application on 8 October, so residents can comment again.

More than 200 new and revised documents went on the planning register on 1 October. Among them is an admission that the scheme falls short of a new national rule on housing density near Metro stations (North Tyneside planning register, 23/00241/FULES).

What is proposed

Application 23/00241/FULES was first lodged in February 2023. It covers about 220 hectares and seeks:

  • full permission for 683 homes, a new spine road and a road bridge
  • outline permission for up to 2,017 more homes
  • land kept for a possible two-form-entry primary school
  • up to 1,000 square metres of shops in a local centre
  • a new Metro station beside the local centre

The council’s notice says the application comes with an environmental statement and would affect a public right of way (council notice, 8 October 2026).

What has changed

Persimmon’s planning statement addendum, dated 30 September, lists three changes made after comments from council officers (planning statement addendum):

  • The northern junction on the A186 has moved slightly west. Persimmon says this puts more distance between it and the existing Earsdon roundabout. It says a road safety audit and junction modelling show it would work safely.
  • The detailed housing layouts have been refined after highway and design comments. Persimmon says the number of homes, the mix and the parking are unchanged.
  • Bellway’s house types have been updated to meet the Future Homes Standard and current Building Regulations.

The density problem

The government published a rewritten National Planning Policy Framework on 17 August 2026. One of its new rules expects homes within 800 metres, or a ten-minute walk, of a well-connected station to be built at 35 or 45 homes per hectare, depending on how frequent the trains are. Metro stations count. Persimmon’s own summary of the rule says proposals that fail to use land efficiently “should be refused”.

Parts of Murton Gap are within walking distance of Shiremoor, West Monkseaton and the proposed Murton station. Persimmon says the 45 homes per hectare figure applies to those parts. It accepts the scheme “does not achieve 45 dwellings per hectare throughout every qualifying area”.

It calls this a “limited conflict” and argues against changing the plans:

  • the total is capped at 2,700, so more density near stations would only move homes from elsewhere on the site
  • higher density would mean more flats, while the council’s 2022 housing market assessment says flats should be only 5 to 10% of new homes
  • it says flats take longer to sell, citing Rightmove figures for the 12 months to August 2026
  • it says reaching 45 per hectare could need buildings of three storeys or more, out of keeping with the area

The council’s planning committee will decide whether that argument holds. The register lists the application for a committee decision.

Other points in the new documents

  • Flood map change. When the site was allocated in 2017 it was all in the lowest flood risk zone. Since the Environment Agency updated its flood map in May 2026, two small areas are now shown at medium to high risk. Persimmon says they match a council flood scheme of ditches and three ponds in the north-east corner, which would be altered and the site drained.
  • Timescale. The updated environmental statement summary says building would start in 2027, if permission is granted, and finish in 2042.
  • Affordable homes. The same summary says 25% of the homes would be affordable or intermediate tenures.
  • Doctors. It estimates 5,832 people would live on the site, and finds local GP surgeries do not have room for them all. It proposes a financial contribution to fix that.
  • Country park. Persimmon says about 58 hectares would become a new country park, with wetland, meadow and tree planting.

The environmental statement summary on the register still shows tracked edits in places, with old and new figures run together for school places and jobs. We have not quoted those figures.

Persimmon also cites the council’s own housing land supply figures. They show the borough has only 2.82 years of deliverable housing land against its adopted plan, or 2.38 years against the government’s standard method, well short of the five years required.

503 objections so far

The register records 517 public comments since 2023: 503 objections and 8 in support. The council has consulted 1,448 neighbours.

Bar chart: of 517 public comments on the Murton Gap application, 503 are objections, 8 support it and 6 are other comments. 1,448 neighbours were consulted.
Public comments on application 23/00241/FULES. Chart by Whitley Bay News
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Murton has been allocated for about 3,000 homes since the borough’s 2017 Local Plan. Around 300 of those have already been built on a separate site to the south-east. The new draft Local Plan, out for consultation until 12 November, keeps the allocation (see our story on the Local Plan).

What it means for you

  • You can comment now. The neighbour and consultee deadline on the register is Saturday 31 October. The press notice gives 30 days from publication, and the register shows that period running to 7 November. Comment on the application page, quoting 23/00241/FULES.
  • Already objected? Earlier comments stay on file. A fresh comment can address the new documents, such as the moved junction or the density argument.
  • Live near Earsdon roundabout or Rake Lane? The revised junction and highway drawings are on the documents tab, dated 1 October.
  • Look up the documents yourself. The planning statement addendum and the revised masterplan are the shortest way into what has changed.

Our planning news page tracks the other big schemes around Whitley Bay.

Sources