Sandpiper replacement wins through

Malhotra’s plans to demolish the Cullercoats pub and introduce convenience retail and 14 apartments have been greenlit, overturning a 2022 refusal.

The Newcastle-based Malhotra Group, which operates across the property, leisure and care sectors, initially proposed the redevelopment of the Farringdon Road site in 2021, but North Tyneside Council refused the application on three grounds: its height, loss of privacy for neighbours, and insufficient parking.

An appeal was submitted and although dismissed, the planning inspector did this summer award costs against the local authority, also ruling that it had acted unreasonably on planning grounds with all three reasons.

The proposal therefore reflects a resubmission, with ID Partnership and Lichfields leading the professional team for Malhotra, the regional property group.

Also involved are Tetra Tech, Dendra, JC Consulting, Fairhurst, Apex Acoustics and Arc Environmental.

The new scheme is described by Lichfields as less imposing than the original iteration: it contains four fewer apartments than had first been intended (although the refused scheme had also come down to 14), with ten two-bedroom and four one-bedroom apartments put forward.

Now included in the plans are 36 parking spaces, one for each flat with five visitor spaces, and 17 for the convenience store and other ground floor retail & leisure.

Lichfields’ planning statement said: “The scheme presents a less imposing design to that of the original scheme to better suit the local context. The complexity of the facades has been stripped back by utilising a simpler range of materials, with dormer windows replaced by glazing and roof lights.

“The use of red brick and hanging tiles were chosen to reflect the materiality of the surrounding residential uses, sensitively placing the development within the local context. The proposed massing is less imposing through the incorporation of pitched roofs to replace the previously proposed mansard roof.”

Malhotra said that in the current landscape the pub is unviable, adding that even with post-2018 investment it has struggled, with factors including Covid-19 and the arrival of leisure offers elsewhere in the area being contributing factors.

In line with officer recommendation, North Tyneside’s planning committee gave a ‘minded to approve’ verdict, subject to the completion of legal agreements.