Spatial development strategy

1.A Spatial development strategy

1.2 North Tyneside is a relatively compact Borough but it has diverse and characteristic areas; from the inner urban communities along the River Tyne, coastal towns, north west villages and suburban heart of the Borough. The northern sweep of land between the urban area and towns of Cramlington, Seghill, Seaton Delaval and Blyth provide a key break between Tyneside and South East Northumberland.

1.3 The Borough can be viewed as three broad spatial planning areas. These areas each include distinct communities, but they share key characteristics in terms of the overall extent of development and access to services, facilities and public transport. 


Fig 1.2: North Tyneside Spatial Planning Areas (map to be updated)

The urban area: Killingworth, Wallsend, North Shields, the Coast; plus economic corridors of the River Tyne and A19. This includes some areas of planned housing growth at Murton Gap and Killingworth Moor.

North West villages: Smaller settlements including Annitsford, Burradon, Camperdown, Dudley, Fordley, Seaton Burn and Wideopen.

The Green Belt: Part of the wider Tyne and Wear Green Belt that encompasses all of the Tyneside conurbation and from North Tyneside extends into neighbouring Northumberland and Newcastle.

The urban area

1.4 The current spatial strategy focuses development within the urban area and strategic allocations of Murton Gap and Killingworth Moor. The urban area will remain important for growth, investment and regeneration. It will be where most leisure, employment and shopping activities will continue to happen in North Tyneside.

1.5 The urban area has an important role in meeting housing needs, and housing delivery is often key to revitalising brownfield land and supporting regeneration in the urban area. New development within and adjacent to the existing urban area is usually accessible to existing services and facilities and can provide for sustainable patterns of growth.

1.6 Specific strategies for employment, retail and housing are set out in their respective sections.

1.7 Key characteristics of the urban area include the large and significant green spaces of the Rising Sun Country Park, Wallsend Dene, Northumberland Park, The Links and beaches and Killingworth Lakeside. These features provide key opportunities for biodiversity, leisure and recreation in the urban area and are crucial to many residents’ well-being and health.

North West Villages

1.8 The collection of large villages with a unique character led by the area’s collieries and waggonways are largely surrounded by existing green belt. The current local plan’s vision focused on creating a well-connected area with a good range of services and facilities.

1.9 The Council has recently launched a series of regeneration plans for the inner and outer north west communities. These will deliver a range of projects expected to help secure investment and improve the quality of the public realm across the area.

1.10 Growth and investment into communities such as those across the North West could help support the overall viability of existing services and support the retention of shops and improvements to public transport connections.

The Green Belt


1.11 The Green Belt in North Tyneside is the belt of agricultural land and countryside that stretches across the north of the urban area. It helps define the boundaries of the Borough to the north as much as the North Sea to the east and River Tyne to the south. The current Local Plan policy plays an important role in preserving this character. The Council recognises that changes to the Green Belt, if not undertaken sensitively and only where unavoidable, would risk causing harm to the character and environment of the Borough.

1.12 National planning policy is clear that existing green belt boundaries must be reviewed where a Local Plan is unable to meet its development needs in any other way. Review of the green belt is also necessary to establish the extent of grey belt within North Tyneside. The grey belt is land that may be of limited value to the role of green belt. This is best defined in a co-ordinated manner through the Local Plan.

1.13 However, where the Borough does not have enough land to meet its housing needs, developers may successfully establish sites should be classed as Grey Belt. The risk of speculative planning applications outside the Plan making process means development may come forward in an ad-hoc, unplanned manner in current green belt locations that would be better protected from development

1.14 Work to understand the total development capacity of the urban area is ongoing. Alongside this consultation an ongoing Call for Sites and site selection process will confirm the capacity of the Borough to meet its development needs. However, the Council considers that it is unlikely that needs can be met within urban area alone.

1.15 Review of the existing Green Belt is therefore necessary to establish clear evidence of the extent of Grey Belt in North Tyneside and inform future stages of this Local Plan. This review will be undertaken in accordance with government guidance and policy regarding Green Belt.

1.16 The aim of any review of Green Belt is to consider potential areas of change whilst ensuring the key purpose and aims of the Green Belt designation is protected. The current North Tyneside Local Plan defines some of the key spatial functions of the Green Belt as:

  • Checking the unrestricted sprawl of the built up area of North Tyneside.
  • Preventing the merging of:
  • Killingworth with Wideopen and Dudley
  • Seaton Burn and Dudley with Cramlington.
  • Shiremoor / Backworth with Seghill and Seaton Delaval / Holywell.
  • Shiremoor with Wellfield / Earsdon.
  • Whitley Bay with Seaton Delaval / Holywell and Seaton Sluice.
  • Preserving the separate character of:
  • Seaton Burn
  • Wideopen / Brunswick Green;
  • Dudley / Annitsford; and,
  • Earsdon.

1.17 Any review of North Tyneside’s Green Belt will need to consider and assess the suitability of each of these functions. As Green Belt is a cross-boundary policy, the Council is working closely with its neighbours on Green Belt review. An initial joint study will establish a shared methodology for assessment of the Tyne and Wear Green Belt. This provides important direction to each Local Authority to ensure consistent appraisal of the role of the Green Belt as a whole.

1.18 The outcome of North Tyneside’s Green Belt Review will be available alongside the next stage of consultation on this Local Plan.

How can the Local Plan respond

1.19 Update the Local Plan’s spatial strategy and Green Belt policy to:

  1. Ensure the urban area remains an important focus for growth and regeneration.
  2. Recognise the important role of green spaces and other areas for leisure and recreation with the urban area.
  3. Support growth, investment and regeneration of appropriate locations across the urban area and in the north west.
  4. Subject to the detailed findings of the Green Belt review ensure the Local Plan safeguards the primary role and function of North Tyneside’s Green Belt in:
  • Preventing the unrestricted sprawl of the North Tyneside urban area, and
  • Preventing the merging of the Tyneside conurbation with settlements in South East Northumberland.