Campaigners Challenge Gateshead Housing Plan Over Old Data

On 3 February 2026, campaigners in Jarrow, South Tyneside, said a proposal to build about 1,200 new homes at Fellgate is being justified using what they describe as out-of-date traffic and air-pollution evidence. The group Save The Fellgate Green Belt said South Tyneside Council had relied on traffic and nitrogen dioxide monitoring dating back to 2018 to support the proposal.

The housing plan focuses on a large area of green space at Fellgate, a sensitive buffer on the border between South Tyneside and Gateshead. Campaigners say using eight-year-old baseline data ignores post-pandemic changes in traffic patterns and recent industrial growth — including expansion around the International Advanced Manufacturing Park — and so understates the scheme’s likely impact on local roads and air quality.

During the Stage 2 public hearings in January 2026, campaign spokesperson Dave Green told the inspector that the council’s figures did not reflect the reality on local roads. He and other opponents said they were particularly worried about air quality on the A194 and other nearby major routes (campaign materials also reference the A19 and A184), and called for updated traffic and air-quality studies before any final decision is taken.

South Tyneside Council says the Local Plan is legally compliant and follows national planning requirements. The council was directed by the Secretary of State to submit the Publication Draft Local Plan for independent examination in March 2025 after councillors twice voted against progressing the plan in late 2024 and early 2025.

An independent Planning Inspector, David Spencer, is currently examining the evidence and will decide whether the Fellgate allocation for around 1,200 homes should remain in the borough’s Local Plan. If it is retained, the allocation would form part of the borough’s development strategy for the plan period to 2040.