Member Article

Major development plans for St Mary’s Headland in Whitley Bay spark controversy

More than 2,500 people have signed petition against North Tyneside Council’s planned visitor centre development at St Mary’s Headland in Whitley Bay.

The project, which is part of the council’s £36m Seafront Masterplan, has sparked controversy amongst locals as Tynemouth’s Crusoes has announced plans to open a second venue on the headland.

The petition states that an ice cream man, who has pitched on St Mary’s car park for more than 25 years has been told he will need to relocate, it reads: “Marcello Dimascio has pitched his ice cream van for 25 years on the headland of St Mary’s island.He has now been told by NTC to get off the pitch by the end of the year.

“Why? because the council have allowed Crusoes [Tynemouth beach] to build a large ’‘futuristic cafe’’ on this beautiful piece of land!

“He has been treated bad by the council, he had offered to put a small kiosk up and pay for the existing toilets to be done up but it has fallen on deaf ears at the council.

“So why can Crusoes get the lion’s share when they all ready (sic) have one on the south end of longsands and another at the north end being built now?”

North Tyneside Council has selected the operators of Crusoes in Tynemouth to draw up plans for a ‘futuristic cafe’ and visitor centre to be built on the land which is currently a car park for St Mary’s Island and Lighthouse.

In a statement, the council said: “Further to comments made on social media, the council would like to clarify the situation with the visitor centre at St Mary’s Headland.

“Firstly, these plans are for the headland/mainland, including the existing car park area, and not St Mary’s Island.

“The operator for a new all-year round visitor facility was selected following a formal procurement process in 2011.

“The existing ice cream vendor submitted a proposal in 2011 - unfortunately, they were unsuccessful and were informed accordingly at the time, which was four years ago, and they were advised of the future timescales.

“The council is happy to work with the existing ice cream vendor to identify potential options for alternative sites; in the meantime they will be able to continue to trade from this site during 2015.

“The plans and design for the headland will be considered as part of a statutory planning process - all residents are able to view and comment on this via the council’s website once an application is submitted.

“The council will also fully take into account the views of Natural England and other relevant bodies, given the location of the site.

“Further to a comment made on social media, no formal complaints have been made to the council about the conduct of councillors.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .