Gateshead stables owner fears for future amid land dispute

Graeme Lamb fears his business will suffer if he cannot use land near is stables

The owner of a stables has accused a council of running his "business into the ground" after he lost a portion of land to accommodate Metro upgrades.

Graeme Lamb wanted to graze his horses on a site opposite his Quarry Park Stables after contractors moved in.

He said he only wanted to lease the field while workers were on land he rents to carry out a £100m duelling of nearby lines between Pelaw and Bede.

Gateshead Council said he was unable to use it for conservation reasons.

Mr Lamb, who opened the stables in 1987 and previously ran a riding school, said he had used the disputed land up until 2009.

The grazing land has been taken over by contractors working on the Metro Flow project

He is now fearful for the future of his business and the welfare of his horses without sufficient pastureland.

"I don't want financial help, I just want to be able to use this land opposite until the work on the Metro is done and the contractors are off the site," he said.

"The council has told me that this land is not suitable for horses, but I know that it is - I used it for years previously."

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he had already been forced to let staff go after his income dropped and he relies on volunteer help, having once had 125 horses and up to 20 staff at its peak.

"It feels like the council is using this opportunity to crush my business and get me out," he added.

Gateshead council says the land Graeme Lamb wants to use is protected for conservation reasons

Engineers have taken over a section of the Wardley Lane land, near Hebburn, that Mr Lamb rented from South Tyneside Council while they carry out the work.

The upgrade is due to start on 12 September and will result in the entire South Shields branch being out of action for three months.

Metro operator Nexus said it hoped to have its contractors off the land by the spring 2023, but Mr Lamb believes it would take another couple of years before it has recovered sufficiently to graze horses there again.

Gateshead Council said Mr Lamb wanted to lease land that is within a "strategic wildlife corridor".

A spokesperson said it actively manages this area for its "botanical, invertebrate and ground-nesting bird interest" and the field is one of only a few sites in east Gateshead to support breeding skylarks.

"Grazing with horses on this land, as proposed by Mr Lamb, is considered to be incompatible with the council's conservation priorities for the field and the wider Wardley Manor Country Park site," they added.

"Following the recent completion of fencing repair works, the field will again be grazed this autumn/winter by a mix of rare breed sheep and cattle."