Former South Shields school site to offer extra care

Plans are being developed to transform a former school site in South Shields, South Tyneside, into a specialist extra care scheme offering around 120 apartments.The Chuter Ede School & Community Association closed its doors early in September and planning permission has already been granted for the building’s demolition.Under the proposals for the site, which will be developed and managed by Karbon Homes as part of a wider partnership, in addition to the extra care homes, facilities such as a cafe and activity spaces will also be created. These will be open and accessible to the wider community.Architects are now preparing designs for the scheme, which would consist of a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments. It is anticipated that 20 of the apartments would be specifically for people living with memory impairments such as dementia.The development would be for anyone over the age of 18 with a care and support need, and would have a 24/7 on site care team, alongside the housing support team.Councillor Joanne Bell, lead member for governance, finance and corporate services at South Tyneside Council said: “We’ve been clear that the council’s long-term plans for the site have been for housing, and it provides a fantastic opportunity to develop extra care accommodation for adults with care needs.“We also recognise the need for modern facilities for local people to use, and it is fantastic that these can be integrated into the development. It’s a really exciting concept for the site; integrating specialist housing into the wider community and supporting people to live independently.”She added: “I’m glad that the council has managed to support those groups who previously occupied the community association, following the community interest organisation’s decision to close earlier in the year. We now turn our attention to clearing the site for development over the coming months.”The Chuter Ede site is one of a number of projects which form part of the council’s wider Adult Social Care Accommodation Strategy aimed at supporting people who may need extra help to live independently in the community.Zoey Hawthorne, assistant director of development delivery at Karbon Homes, said: “We’re proud to be working with South Tyneside Council to deliver much-needed, specialist, affordable accommodation options for the borough and are working closely with them to design three extra care schemes that meet the wants and needs of local people.“Our vision for the new schemes is to create strong and sustainable places that help empower people with additional care and support needs to live life to the full.“We’re also committed to ensuring community is at the heart of all three schemes, incorporating social spaces into the design, as well as a bistro cafe and multi-use spaces for activities, all of which will be open to the general public to help bring the community together.”A planning application for the new extra care scheme is likely to be submitted early next year. If approved, work would start towards the back end of 2024 and take around 24 months to complete.The remainder of the site, where the former school building currently stands, is earmarked for private housing development. The council also intends to retain and improve the quality of the existing playing pitches on the wider site, outside of the extra care development footprint.Bell added: “Chuter Ede would be the first site of its kind in South Tyneside to bring together extra care housing, community facilities and playing pitches provision all in one place.”Read next: Orbit’s new strategy seeks to ease “extreme pressure”Are you a social housing professional? Sign up for a FREE MEMBERSHIP to upload news stories, post job vacancies, and connect with colleagues on our secure social feed.