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JEA Bell's avatar

Yes, two within metres of my home.

One particular gentleman from the South has realised how cheap property is in South Tyneside, and is buying up several at auction. Despite suitability for the location, and despite a huge shortage of family homes, these developers are determined to make make profit, and there is little can be done.

Our newly elected councillors are making some progress, but I fear after appeals, we will be the losers.

Application turned down, in development nearest to me, so the owner has deferred to making it an Airbnb.

Jamie Jenkins's avatar

Spot on, JEA. It feels like as soon as one planning door closes, a developer finds an open window—or just turns it into an Airbnb! It’s incredibly frustrating for local communities when much-needed family housing gets treated like a real-life game of Monopoly. Let's hope your local councillors can hold the line on those appeals.

Peter Aubrey's avatar

You say illegal migrants should be placed in “clearly managed, secure and time-limited accommodation while their claims are decided”. But do such places exist or do the public support building them? That’s the whole point, isn’t it?

Illegal Arrival = Detention = solves the problem. But detention where ?

Clare's avatar

So the Home Office tell us that 4,900 children arrived in 2025. How can we be sure of that number when the checks are so haphazard. There have been numerous instances where ‘children’ were given places in schools when they were quite clearly young adults.