Old Town Hall area, West St, Gateshead

Green belt
Flood zone 2
Flood zone 3
Conservation areas
Listed buildings
Air quality zones
Wildlife corridors
Newburn Ford Battlefield

Overview

1.82

hectares

91 - 100

housing capacity

Non-housing development

Development will encompass a mix of residential on upper floors, retail, offices, hotels and leisure, and public space, in proportions and of a scale yet to be determined

Allocated site

Gateshead Central Development Opportunity Site allocated by Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan

Site constraints

This is not a green belt area

Coal mining

Coal-mining

Area affected by past coal-mining that may pose a risk of ground instability. It is likely that a planning application would need to be supported by a Coal Mining Risk Assessment.

This area is flood zone 1

Flood Risk Areas / Flood Zones

Flood Risk Areas refer to the probability of flooding occurring on a site from sea and rivers. 
Inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk (whether existing or future). 

Flood zone 1 - land with a low probability of flooding from rivers or the sea
Flood zone 2 – land with a medium probability of flooding
Flood zones 3a & 3b – land with a high probability of flooding

Surface water flooding from rainfall events at differing intensities and frequencies is also a flood risk consideration. 
 
Where appropriate, applications should be supported by a site-specific flood risk assessment. These areas are:

  • Flood zone 1 – where the site is 1 hectare or greater in size
  • Flood zone 2
  • Flood zone 3a & 3b
  • Land identified in a strategic flood risk assessment as being at increased flood risk in future
  • Land that may be subject to other sources of flooding, where its development would introduce a more vulnerable use

Data source for this information:
Gateshead Council Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA)
Environment Agency
National Planning Policy Framework / National Planning Practice Guidance

How often is this data source updated?
Every time the Local Plan SFRA is updated.
NPPF and Environment Agency data are updated periodically.

Soil and groundwater contamination ground risk band III

This site has been rated as risk band III for soil and groundwater contamination.
Risk bands range from I to V, the higher the band the greater potential risk (read more about ground risk bands).

This rating is based on the following potential risks listed below:

Boreholes recorded on this site

Historic boreholes drilled at a site may act as a preferential pathway for rapid transport of contamination to groundwater.

Mine entrances recorded on site

Vertical or horizontal mine entrances (shafts, adits) may act as a preferential pathway for rapid transport of contaminants to groundwater.

Groundwater vulnerability medium

Based on the hydrology, geology and soil properties within a single square kilometre around the site, the vulnerability of groundwater to pollutants discharged at ground level is considered likely to be medium.

This area is not subject to tree preservation orders

Geotechnical ground risk band IV

This site has been rated as risk band IV for geotechnical hazards.
Risk bands range from I to V, the higher the band the greater potential risk (read more about risk bands).

This rating is based on the following potential risks listed below:

Ground gas

Past landfill sites, coal mining and chemical wastes that present a ground gas hazard may be present.

Local ground stability hazards

Area affected by burnt colliery ash, and chemical waste fill areas posing a risk of land instability and/or affecting the capacity of the ground to carry weight, affecting the design of building foundations.

Coal-mining

Area affected by past coal-mining that may pose a risk of ground instability. It is likely that a planning application would need to be supported by a Coal Mining Risk Assessment.

This is a conservation area

Conservation area

Conservation Areas are a material consideration when local authorities consider planning applications. Conservation areas are designated areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which should be preserved and/or enhanced. They may also include other heritage assets including listed buildings, registered parks and gardens, locally listed buildings, parks and gardens, scheduled monuments and registered battlefields.

Government planning policy requires that development should conserve and enhance heritage assets in a manner appropriate to their significance.  Development should enhance or better reveal the significance of conservation areas.

Development outside a conservation area may affect its setting.  Any development which affects the setting of a conservation area should be assessed in the same manner as development within the conservation area.

Applications for planning permission must be supported by a heritage statement.

There are special provisions for trees in Conservation Areas.

Data sources for information on heritage assets include:
Gateshead Local Plan policies and designations
Historic England – www.historicengland.org.uk
Tyne and Wear Sitelines (Historic Environment Record) - https://www.twsitelines.info/
Trees in conservation area guidance - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tree-preservation-orders-and-trees-in-conservation-areas

This area has listed buildings

Listed buildings

Listed buildings are statutorily designated heritage assets.  They are buildings of special architectural or historic interest. Listed buildings are a material consideration when a local planning authority is considering an application for planning permission.  Works to a listed building will require listed building consent in addition to those works which require planning permission.

The National Planning Policy Framework requires that development should conserve and enhance heritage assets in a manner appropriate to their significance.  Development should enhance or better reveal the significance of listed buildings.

Development adjacent to a listed building may affect its setting.  Any development which affects the setting of a listed building should be assessed in the same manner as development which affects the listed building.

Applications for planning permission must be supported by a heritage statement.

Data sources for information on heritage assets include:
Gateshead Local Plan policies and designations
Historic England – www.historicengland.org.uk
Tyne and Wear Sitelines (Historic Environment Record) - https://www.twsitelines.info/ 

There are no wildlife corridors on this site

This is an air quality management area

Air quality management areas

Local authorities are required to monitor, assess and act to improve local air quality by means of Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs), in locations where national air quality objectives are not likely to be achieved, and put together an action plan of measures to address the problem.  

The Brownfield Sites tool indicates the areas which have been declared an AQMA, based on the Gateshead Air Quality Annual Status Report.

Development that could increase air pollution to higher than the National Air Quality Objective thresholds, or leads to an increase in exposure where high levels of air pollution already exist, will only be permitted where it can be demonstrated, through an air quality assessment, that acceptable air quality will, or can be, achieved.

Data source:

Gateshead Local Plan policies CS14 and MSGP21

Gateshead Air Quality Annual Status Report:

Appendix A Table A.3 — Annual Mean NO2 Monitoring Results — Exceedances of the annual mean objective of 40pg/m3 are shown in bold

Appendix D: Map(s) of Monitoring Locations and AQMAs

https://www.gateshead.gov.uk/article/3393/Air-quality-reviews-and-assessments

Data source update: Annually


British Geological Survey factsheets relevant to this site
Asbestos, Coal Mining, Coal Mining Waste (Burnt Colliery Ash) and Coal Mining (Spoil)
Disclaimer

This website is intended to give an initial summary of potential risks on a site and cannot guarantee that the information is accurate, complete or up-to-date.

The information on the site is not a replacement for standard good practice risk-based assessment and investigation of sites or consultation with professional advisers, and does not provide the detailed information which would be required to accompany a planning application.

All liability or responsibility of the Council for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of reliance on the information on the site is expressly excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.