Provisional plans to develop the site of the old Avenue Hotel in Whitley Bay for housing have been approved.
The former pub on Park Avenue and the adjoining building, 1 Brook Street, were bought by North Tyneside Council in 2014.
The buildings were then demolished having remained empty and fallen into a state of disrepair over several years.
At a meeting on Tuesday May 10 the council’s Planning Committee passed a proposal for outline planning permission for a residential development on the site.
Initial designs – submitted by the authority, which is behind the application – show an indicative scheme featuring a terraced crescent of 12 homes split into individual terraces of four and eight properties, each with a private front and back garden and parking behind the site.
An access road from Brook Street would mean access to the back of existing properties would be maintained.
Councillors were told that positive feedback to the scheme included that it was ‘well thought out’ and ‘in keeping with surrounding developments’.
The proposals are part of the council’s £36m Seafront Master Plan to regenerate and revitalise the coastline from St Mary’s Island to Cullercoats Bay.
Norma Redfearn, Elected Mayor of North Tyneside, said: “Along with the progress we’re making with the restoration of the dome, this is yet another step forward in our efforts to rejuvenate the coastline and ensure it’s somewhere people want to live, work and visit.
“I’m delighted to see some positive proposals for the land where the Avenue Hotel used to be – this is somewhere people have told me they would like to see improved and this scheme aims to achieve that.”
The committee approved the plans subject to various conditions and a five-year period was granted to allow the council to lodge a reserved matters application in order to secure delivery of the site in co-ordination with the wider regeneration of Whitley Bay.