Charity puts forward plan for new flats

GATESHEAD Council has received a planning application to build 42 apartments and 11 bungalows on the site of a former library and playing field.

The applicant, the charity and almshouse provider The Hospital of King James, wants to “replace and upgrade” its existing housing stock and sheltered accommodation with the development on Sunderland Road.

It says the new homes would be there to serve “Gateshead residents of limited financial means.”

The proposed apartment building will be a pitched three to fourstorey building compromising one to two-bedroom flats.

The application also states the charity has identified a suitable area for a replacement playing field, 170 metres to the east of Sunderland Road.

North Shields-based Edwards Architecture will design the new homes. The company was also responsible for the design of Lynwood Care facility and Willowburn hospice, both in Stanley.