Green Belt fields at Brier Dene Farm and south of Hartley Lane would take 1,130 homes under the final draft plan. Consultation runs 28 September to 9 November.

The final draft of North Tyneside’s next Local Plan proposes 1,130 homes on Green Belt fields between Whitley Bay and Earsdon. It goes before the council’s scrutiny committee tonight, and a six-week public consultation opens on 28 September.

The plan will steer where homes, jobs and infrastructure go in the borough until 2043, replacing the current Local Plan adopted in 2017. The committee papers published for tonight’s meeting contain the full Publication Draft, the site allocations and the consultation plans.

Why the Green Belt is back on the table

Government rules give North Tyneside a housing need of 982 new homes a year. Over the plan period, 2026/27 to 2042/43, that means at least 16,694 homes.

The council’s own supply figures, set out in the draft plan, say land outside the Green Belt can deliver about 10,941 of them. That covers existing permissions, allocations carried over from 2017, new urban sites and an allowance for windfalls. It leaves 5,753 homes with nowhere to go.

The council says it asked every neighbouring authority, from Northumberland to Durham, whether they could take the unmet need. None could. On that basis it concludes the “exceptional circumstances” needed to redraw Green Belt boundaries have been met.

The sites nearest Whitley Bay

Two fields north of the town make up the plan’s “Land North of Whitley Bay” allocation, between the streets at Beaumont Drive and Red House Drive and the edge of Earsdon village:

  • Land at Brier Dene Farm: 630 homes. The new Green Belt boundary would run along the Brierdene Burn corridor to the north of the site.
  • Land at Earsdon, south of Hartley Lane: 500 homes. The policy warns that Hartley Lane’s “current rural character and constraints” must be considered.

The policy for both sites requires protection for the setting of Earsdon Village Conservation Area, homes kept out of the flood zones along the Brierdene Burn, and contributions to upgrading the A192/A186 Red Lion roundabout. Development must keep Whitley Bay and Earsdon visibly separate.

Close by, a further 550 homes are proposed on land east of Earsdon View, south of Earsdon and east of Shiremoor.

The biggest sites across the borough

The largest allocation remains Murton, the strategic site in the gap between Monkseaton, New York and Shiremoor, at 2,700 homes within the plan period. Murton Gap and Killingworth Moor were allocated in the 2017 plan and carry forward.

Other large sites proposed for release or allocation include:

The remaining Green Belt would still do its old jobs, the plan says: stopping Killingworth, Shiremoor and Whitley Bay merging with Seaton Delaval, Cramlington and Blyth, and keeping Earsdon’s separate character. The full map of every proposed site is on the council’s interactive policies map.

What happens next

The report to tonight’s committee sets out the timetable:

  • 9 September: Overview and Scrutiny Co-ordination and Finance Committee reviews the final proposals
  • 21 September: Cabinet considers referral to Full Council
  • 24 September: Full Council decides whether to approve the draft for consultation
  • 28 September to 9 November: formal six-week public consultation
  • 10 December: Cabinet reviews the consultation results
  • December 2026: submission to the Secretary of State
  • 2027: examination by an independent planning inspector
  • 2028: adoption, if the plan passes examination
Timeline of the North Tyneside Local Plan from the 9 September 2026 scrutiny meeting, through Cabinet on 21 September, Full Council on 24 September, public consultation from 28 September to 9 November, submission in December 2026 and examination in 2027, to adoption in 2028

What it means for you

  • The consultation from 28 September is the formal chance to object or support. This is the Regulation 19 stage, so responses need to address whether the plan is sound and legally compliant, not just whether you like it. Everything will be published on the council’s Local Plan hub.
  • If you live near a proposed site, expect a letter. The council’s engagement strategy commits to writing to residents closest to the allocations, alongside drop-in events across the borough, a webinar and paper copies in libraries.
  • The Whitley Bay sites are not decided yet. The plan has to survive Full Council, consultation and an independent examination before any of these fields gets an allocation, and outline planning applications would still follow after that.
  • Our planning news page tracks borough applications, and rising demand for homes here is part of why house prices are at a record.

Sources