House-building survey

A planning application has been submitted to Gateshead Council for housing on land between Starling Walk and Sun Hill in Sunniside. I have no problem with housing going onto this site but as ward councillors we had always made it clear to officers that this site should be used for housing for older people. 4 years ago, the old Sun Hill residential accommodation was replaced by the new Sun Hill. Much of the unused land was part of the footprint of the old building. New accommodation for older people in Sunniside tends to free up existing family homes occupied by single older people and by older couples.

Unfortunately, the planning application for this site is for 8 houses and 2 bungalows. The bungalows fit the vision we have for the site. The houses don't.

Yesterday I delivered a survey about the application to the 50 households in the immediate vicinity of the site. I got about 25 replies. I will be sorting through them shortly and passing on the results to the planning officers in Gateshead.