Two major housing schemes submitted

Earlier this year, two emerging schemes were unveiled by Barton Willmore and Cheviot Holdings Ltd and went out for public consultation.

At the time they prompted concerns, with many locals worried about the cumulative impact that the amount of new homes would have on Amble’s infrastructure.

The schemes were among a swathe of housing bids for the town, with more than 1,000 being proposed across numerous applications.

Northumberland’s draft core strategy identifies a need for at least 600 homes in Amble between 2011 and 2031.

Applicant Cheviot Holdings has now lodged the two applications with the county council. They are outline schemes with all matters reserved, except access.

The first is for up to 272 houses for land north-east of Amble Sewage Treatment Works at Percy Drive.

The second – known as Hauxley View – is for 166 homes to the west of the A1068.

The Percy Drive scheme would be a mix of market and affordable housing and a range of detached, semi-detached and terraces are proposed.

The Hauxley View bid comprises two, three and four bedroom properties. It is likely that the Section 106 agreement will be for a 15 per cent on-site contribution of affordable housing, equating to some 25 dwellings.

With both applications, objections have been lodged by residents in relation to overdevelopment and impact on the town’s infrastructure.

Another says that there should be a better ‘integrated layout’ of the housing which is being planned across the various schemes, instead of the ‘existing hotchpotch of unconnected developments’.

Among the objections for the Percy Drive scheme, one critic says that the houses will be built too close to the sewerage works, adding ‘please don’t allow this madness’.

Speaking out against the Hauxley View bid, one objector states that the route of the future Amble bypass has been ignored, ‘despite it running through the southern edge of the site’.