National Trust plans car park upgrade at Souter Lighthouse to help cope with 70,000 visits a year

South Tyneside Council’s planning department has received an application for the Souter Lighthouse in the Whitburn area.

Applicant the National Trust, which manages the heritage site, is looking to improve the popular car park near the lighthouse complex.

According to a design and access statement submitted to council officials, the Souter Lighthouse welcomes around 20,000 visitors per year, with a further 50,000 using the car park to visit Whitburn Coastal Park and The Leas.

It is understood that the car park was first constructed more than 30 years ago and since then, a number of repairs have been carried out to “maintain it as a useable space”.

New plans aim to “improve the visitor experience of the existing car park without impacting the existing look or feel of the area”.

Submitted plans say the current car park is surfaced in a “variety of finishes which include tarmac and loose stone of at least two different colours”.

If approved, works would include a new hard surface, with a proposed site plan marking out around 60 spaces throughout the site.

The resurfaced car park would also include a kerbed perimeter and lined bays, including spaces for disabled parking, as well as “soakaways” to improve drainage.

The design and access statement adds: “The scale and extent of the proposal has been kept to a minimum, carefully balancing the needs and expectations of visitors with the need to conserve and enhance the natural and historic environment.

“It is considered entirely consistent with national and local policy and the proposal will continue to support the visitor experience of the site and surrounding area”.

Applicants have confirmed that there is “no expansion of the existing car park footprint and parking bay numbers remain consistent”.

The National Trust added the works had been “carefully designed to be recessive and not to intrude on more significant views into and out of nearby heritage assets”.

A decision on the planning application will be made once a period of council consultation has concluded.

Comments can be made on the plans until November 16, 2023, via South Tyneside Council’s planning portal website.

For more information on the planning application or to track its progress, visit the council’s planning website and search reference: ST/0664/23/FUL