Revised plans to regenerate a former North Shields dismantling yard described as an “eyesore” are set to be given the green light by councillors next week.
In July North Tyneside Council’s planning committee gave the go-ahead to plans from Mandale Construction Ltd to flatten the existing buildings at the former Motorhog site, on Wallsend Road, to make way for 39 units.
At the time councillors backed the scheme after a report from the planning department told how the site was blighted by vandalism.
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They said the proposals were a chance to get the “eyesore” yard cleaned up and put back into use.
Since then the developer has had to submit a new application for the development, which would feature a mix of industrial and storage and distribution units.
However, because the firm wants to install electricity substations, and confirm cycle storage, it has submitted a new application.
A planning document submitted to the council stated that the outlined scheme had enjoyed popularity elsewhere.
It said: “The applicant has a firm desire to provide a mix of unit types following their vast experience of successfully delivering industrial/commercial developments, and hybrid units, as is being proposed here, have proved very popular with businesses elsewhere.
“This is because they have the capability to accommodate various industrial and commercial business operations both at present and in the future.”
Council planners recommended approval for the proposals with a report to the planning committee saying “the proposal is in keeping with the character of the surroundings, and the units are considered to be of an acceptable size and design”.
Doncaster-based dismantling company Motorhog moved off the site around five years ago.
It was fined in 2017 after it was given repeat warnings to clean up its act at its North Shields base after harmful liquids polluted the site.
ChronicleLive reported that the Environment Agency urged the firm to “take a long hard look” at its practices.
It pleaded guilty to two of three charges of breaching its environmental permit at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on November 29 2017.
The firm was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay almost £5,000 in costs.
The latest plans will be voted on by the authority’s planning committee on Tuesday.
