The strategy for sustainable growth in North Tyneside


The strategy for sustainable growth sets out:

  • The draft spatial development strategy (which helps guide decisions about how North Tyneside could grow),
  • Information about our the Borough's housing needs and future house building,
  • Support for a growing economy and continued regeneration of our town centres and communities.

Would would welcome your feedback on the proposals.

North Tyneside’s Local Plan Areas

Spatial Development Strategy (word version) / (pdf version)

The Local Plan will include maps that show where our town centres, parks green spaces, new homes and employment areas are.

There are also Local Plan Areas that help guide decisions about how North Tyneside could grow. Local Plan Areas group the Borough into very broad areas based on the type of place, access to services and public transport. These areas include:

Meeting North Tyneside’s housing needs

Planning to meet North Tyneside's housing needs (word version) / (pdf version)

Why do we need more homes?

  • While the Government sets a target for how many new homes we should build each year, there are also several local reasons why more homes are needed.
  • We're expecting around 20,000 more residents by 2042, so we need to plan ahead to meet that demand. (Visit ONS Sub National Population Projection 2022)
  • More people are living alone or in smaller family units. Even if our overall population stayed the same, we'd still need more homes to reflect these changing lifestyles.
  • As people live longer, there will be more older residents who may need homes that suit their needs whether that's downsizing or supported housing.
  • Lower birth rates mean there may be fewer children, but families will still need flexible and affordable housing in the right places.
  • If we don’t build enough homes, younger people may be priced out or forced to leave the area. By providing the right mix of housing, we help ensure they can live, work, and raise families here

The need for affordable homes

  • There are not enough affordable homes in North Tyneside. 4,000 families are waiting for affordable Council and housing association properties.
  • Affordable homes must be homes to rent or buy for less than the market value. They are usually made available to lower income residents that have a local connection to North Tyneside.
  • The Council and housing associations build affordable homes, but most are built by private housebuilders as part of larger housing schemes.

How many homes are needed?

  • The Government’s policy says North Tyneside needs 989 new homes every year, this includes both affordable and market housing.
  • This means the Borough needs to plan for around 18,200 new homes over the next 18 years.
  • Including existing sites like Murton and Killingworth Moor there are currently around 7,760 homes in our known housing supply.
  • This means the Local Plan will need to identify where about 10,500 additional homes could go.

Where could new homes go?

The Local Plan will need to consider building on vacant buildings and land in the urban area and some land in the green belt to meet North Tyneside’s housing needs.

It is important that new homes are in places where residents can reach shops and services and that allow for walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport.

There are three options being considered to help guide decisions about where new homes should be planned:

  1. New homes mostly in the urban area:
    • This would mean building new homes on green spaces and existing industrial and commercial areas as well as any vacant brownfield land.
    • Most new homes would be close to existing services.
    • This option alone may be unable to provide enough homes to meet needs, so some development may still be needed in the green belt as well.
  2. New homes within the urban area and a new town or village:
    • In the urban area vacant brownfield land would be a priority for development, important green spaces could be protected.
    • This would mean building homes in the green belt.
    • New services and transport infrastructure would be needed.
    • With enough funding this could create a sustainable new community but could take a long time to be successful and may not meet our housing needs.
  3. New homes within and next to the urban area and villages in the north west:
    • In the urban area vacant brownfield land would be a priority for development but important green spaces could be protected.
    • This would mean expansion of towns and villages in the green belt.
    • Land could be identified close to existing services and where new transport infrastructure can be delivered.

Supporting a growing economy

Economic growth and regeneration (word version) / (pdf version)

About 10,000 new jobs have been created in North Tyneside in the last 10 years and more new jobs are expected.

We want to make sure there are enough good quality jobs for people now and in the future. The needs of businesses are always changing, and suitable land is needed for them to invest and grow.

What is being proposed in this consultation?

  • Keep enough land ready for new and growing businesses.
  • Help new types of jobs grow in sectors like advanced manufacturing, health, and technology and help residents learn the right skills.
  • Support improvements to our town centres and business parks to meet business’ needs.
  • Support the tourism industry and development of more places for people to visit and stay in North Tyneside.

Regenerating Town Centres and Communities

Our town centres and shopping areas are changing as more people shop online. But town centres are still important places at the heart of our communities. They still provide shops and services that help many residents meet their daily needs.

The Council already works to make our communities and town centres attractive and safe, and helps businesses invest and grow.

What is being proposed in this consultation?

  • Help town centres diversify and be more attractive places to live, work and visit.
  • Support transport investment that makes it easier to access town centres on foot, by wheeling, cycling or by public transport.
  • Ensure small shopping areas form part of proposals for larger new neighbourhoods where needed.
  • Continue to ensure retail development proposed outside our town centres does not negatively impact town centres.

Site Assessment

The Local Plan will assess and identify sites for both to be protected for open space and nature conservation, and where sustainable growth and development may take place

Further information about how to submit sites for consideration in this Local Plan process is available here:

Getting around the website


All responses will be dealt with in accordance with our privacy statement which can be found here(External link).

If you have any questions about this survey or need us to do anything differently to help you take part, including providing this information in another language or format, please contact planning.policy@northtyneside.gov.uk(External link) or call 0191 643 2310.


The strategy for sustainable growth sets out:

  • The draft spatial development strategy (which helps guide decisions about how North Tyneside could grow),
  • Information about our the Borough's housing needs and future house building,
  • Support for a growing economy and continued regeneration of our town centres and communities.

Would would welcome your feedback on the proposals.

North Tyneside’s Local Plan Areas

Spatial Development Strategy (word version) / (pdf version)

The Local Plan will include maps that show where our town centres, parks green spaces, new homes and employment areas are.

There are also Local Plan Areas that help guide decisions about how North Tyneside could grow. Local Plan Areas group the Borough into very broad areas based on the type of place, access to services and public transport. These areas include:

Meeting North Tyneside’s housing needs

Planning to meet North Tyneside's housing needs (word version) / (pdf version)

Why do we need more homes?

  • While the Government sets a target for how many new homes we should build each year, there are also several local reasons why more homes are needed.
  • We're expecting around 20,000 more residents by 2042, so we need to plan ahead to meet that demand. (Visit ONS Sub National Population Projection 2022)
  • More people are living alone or in smaller family units. Even if our overall population stayed the same, we'd still need more homes to reflect these changing lifestyles.
  • As people live longer, there will be more older residents who may need homes that suit their needs whether that's downsizing or supported housing.
  • Lower birth rates mean there may be fewer children, but families will still need flexible and affordable housing in the right places.
  • If we don’t build enough homes, younger people may be priced out or forced to leave the area. By providing the right mix of housing, we help ensure they can live, work, and raise families here

The need for affordable homes

  • There are not enough affordable homes in North Tyneside. 4,000 families are waiting for affordable Council and housing association properties.
  • Affordable homes must be homes to rent or buy for less than the market value. They are usually made available to lower income residents that have a local connection to North Tyneside.
  • The Council and housing associations build affordable homes, but most are built by private housebuilders as part of larger housing schemes.

How many homes are needed?

  • The Government’s policy says North Tyneside needs 989 new homes every year, this includes both affordable and market housing.
  • This means the Borough needs to plan for around 18,200 new homes over the next 18 years.
  • Including existing sites like Murton and Killingworth Moor there are currently around 7,760 homes in our known housing supply.
  • This means the Local Plan will need to identify where about 10,500 additional homes could go.

Where could new homes go?

The Local Plan will need to consider building on vacant buildings and land in the urban area and some land in the green belt to meet North Tyneside’s housing needs.

It is important that new homes are in places where residents can reach shops and services and that allow for walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport.

There are three options being considered to help guide decisions about where new homes should be planned:

  1. New homes mostly in the urban area:
    • This would mean building new homes on green spaces and existing industrial and commercial areas as well as any vacant brownfield land.
    • Most new homes would be close to existing services.
    • This option alone may be unable to provide enough homes to meet needs, so some development may still be needed in the green belt as well.
  2. New homes within the urban area and a new town or village:
    • In the urban area vacant brownfield land would be a priority for development, important green spaces could be protected.
    • This would mean building homes in the green belt.
    • New services and transport infrastructure would be needed.
    • With enough funding this could create a sustainable new community but could take a long time to be successful and may not meet our housing needs.
  3. New homes within and next to the urban area and villages in the north west:
    • In the urban area vacant brownfield land would be a priority for development but important green spaces could be protected.
    • This would mean expansion of towns and villages in the green belt.
    • Land could be identified close to existing services and where new transport infrastructure can be delivered.

Supporting a growing economy

Economic growth and regeneration (word version) / (pdf version)

About 10,000 new jobs have been created in North Tyneside in the last 10 years and more new jobs are expected.

We want to make sure there are enough good quality jobs for people now and in the future. The needs of businesses are always changing, and suitable land is needed for them to invest and grow.

What is being proposed in this consultation?

  • Keep enough land ready for new and growing businesses.
  • Help new types of jobs grow in sectors like advanced manufacturing, health, and technology and help residents learn the right skills.
  • Support improvements to our town centres and business parks to meet business’ needs.
  • Support the tourism industry and development of more places for people to visit and stay in North Tyneside.

Regenerating Town Centres and Communities

Our town centres and shopping areas are changing as more people shop online. But town centres are still important places at the heart of our communities. They still provide shops and services that help many residents meet their daily needs.

The Council already works to make our communities and town centres attractive and safe, and helps businesses invest and grow.

What is being proposed in this consultation?

  • Help town centres diversify and be more attractive places to live, work and visit.
  • Support transport investment that makes it easier to access town centres on foot, by wheeling, cycling or by public transport.
  • Ensure small shopping areas form part of proposals for larger new neighbourhoods where needed.
  • Continue to ensure retail development proposed outside our town centres does not negatively impact town centres.

Site Assessment

The Local Plan will assess and identify sites for both to be protected for open space and nature conservation, and where sustainable growth and development may take place

Further information about how to submit sites for consideration in this Local Plan process is available here:

Getting around the website


All responses will be dealt with in accordance with our privacy statement which can be found here(External link).

If you have any questions about this survey or need us to do anything differently to help you take part, including providing this information in another language or format, please contact planning.policy@northtyneside.gov.uk(External link) or call 0191 643 2310.