Plans to build 140 more homes next to a major Newcastle new-build estate have “reluctantly” been approved by councillors, amid major reservations over a lack of infrastructure.
Newcastle City Council’s planning committee has given its backing to housebuilder Barratt David Wilson Homes’ designs for a new development between the Newcastle Great Park and Hazlerigg village.
The proposals, on a former green belt field off the A1 North Brunton Interchange, are set to go ahead despite concerns over a shortage of transport links and other amenities.
Councillors heard at a Civic Centre meeting on Friday that the new homes will be half a mile away from the nearest bus stop – located on Rotary Way, the other side of the big A1 roundabout.
The development will also be 15 to 20 minutes’ walk from the Great Park’s town centre, which itself has come in for regular criticism over the years due to a shortage of shops or healthcare facilities.
In an objection notice presented to the committee, local Labour councillor Andrew Herridge said 140 more homes would put further strain on “already struggling” infrastructure in the Great Park and add to pressure on school places.
Blakelaw councillor Marion Williams described the prospect of adding more traffic to the North Brunton Interchange and forcing residents to cross it to reach a bus stop an “accident waiting to happen”.
She said: “We are looking at a compromise on safety, on energy, on design in terms of integration across the Great Park. Transport is a huge worry for me here.”
Cllr Williams added that the committee felt “huge” frustration at the lack of more stringent rules on the development site, as it had already been removed from the green belt and allocated for potential housebuilding.
Barry Phillipson, the committee’s vice chair, moved “reluctantly” that the application be approved and a majority of its members voted in favour.
Council officers had criticised the plan for having “not been designed as an extension to the Great Park or appropriately integrated with the original estate”.
But they concluded that “substantial weight” must be given to the benefits of new homes being delivered.
As part of the planning permission agreement, the developers will be required to fund improvements to pedestrian and cycle links to Rotary Way.
They will also pay more than £1.2 million earmarked for education provision in the area, which could be put towards the building of a new primary school nearby.
The properties would be a mixture of detached, semi-detached, and terraces, with 15% of them classed as affordable housing.
