Ryton café planning row set to go to crown court after council demolition order

The owners of Fed and Watered, based at the Jack and Jo’s Plant Nurseries in Ryton, have been locked in a battle with Gateshead Council.

The local authority issued an enforcement notice in May 2023 ordering that the café building and surrounding structures be demolished, with retrospective planning applications for the site having been rejected.

At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, two women denied being in breach of that order by failing to subsequently tear down the café .

Joanne Stanton, 54, of Hedgefield Cottages in Ryton, pleaded not guilty to being in contravention of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Her mother, 78-year-old Moira Stanton of Middle Hedgefield Farm, also entered a not guilty plea.

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Both requested that their case be sent up to crown court for trial and they are due to appear next at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday, May 6, until when they have been released on unconditional bail.

Ian Stanton, 72, of Middle Hedgefield Farm, was due in court on the same charge but was unable to attend on medical grounds and it was requested that his case be deferred to a later date.

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