Whitley Bay promenade sauna plans given OK by council

North Tyneside Council’s planning committee unanimously granted permission for the installation of the two prefabricated sauna huts on the lower promenade opposite Brook Gardens.

Council officers recommended the plans for approval satisfied the proposals would not inhibit the public space or produce significant environmental or ecological problems. 

The plans have however generated some controversy with 30 objections raised on the council’s online planning portal. The concerns ranged from the potential emissions from the cabins to requests for it to be moved further along the beach. 

Objector and local Jillian Hall told the committee: “I do feel that a sauna is what people want, but let’s take it and make it eco or move it away from the houses and hotels and the park, where thousands of children play. 

Ms Hall continued: “There will be emissions, they may be low but there will be emissions and we have to think about our lungs.” 

The applicant Kenny Lyons responded: “Modern saunas are designed to avoid this by operating at very high temperatures and carefully controlling airflows. This ensures efficient combustion happens and retains heat where it is supposed to be in the sauna not wasted externally.

On the cabin’s stove, Mr Lyons said: “It creates very minimal ash and no visible smoke during hours of operation.” 

The applicant went on to state the stove that would be used for the cabins would produce half the legal limit for particulate emissions.  

The council’s own report also states: “Concerns about potential health impacts from wood‑burning appliances are understood; however, the scale of the proposed installations is small, the usage is intermittent, and Environmental Health raises no objection, recommending standard controls including: regulated hours of operation; controls on ash handling and disposal…”. 

The report continued: “Overall, the development would deliver modest economic, social and well-being benefits consistent with the aims for the Coastal Sub-Area…”