Hundreds of new homes approved for Choppington

The application, for 327 houses on land by Whinney Farm Cottages, between Choppington and Guide Post, was given the go-ahead by 11 votes to zero, with one abstention, at Northumberland County Council’s strategic planning committee.

The committee first approved the bid in March 2017, before it was reassessed in September following the withdrawal of the core strategy.

Since 2017, Ascent Homes, the house-building arm of the council-owned company Advance Northumberland, has taken over as the applicant, but the viability issues with the site, mainly related to land contamination and highways, remain.

The scheme should provide 56 affordable homes, £2.241million for education and £196,200 for ecology.

Ascent’s senior land manager, Rob Murphy, described the proposed development as having a ‘high-quality layout which incorporates a green corridor through the site’ and said that the new roundabout to serve the estate would also help slow traffic on the A1068.

He added that the company has submitted an external funding bid to support some of the infrastructure works and, if successful, with indications good so far, then 27 affordable homes will be included in phase one.

Coun Trevor Thorne moved approval ‘reluctantly’, saying he accepted the viability assessment, but ‘as a planner, I ask myself who is going to pay for the impact on healthcare, education and ecology’.

Coun Barry Flux described the application as ‘rotten’ and the lack of contributions as ‘shoddy’, while Coun Les Bowman also expressed disappointment, but added: “I can see this being a fantastic development and a lovely place to live.”

Phase 1 contains a mix of two, three and four bedroom homes including bungalows, terraced, townhouses and detached.

After the hearing Neil Turnbull, Ascent Homes head of land and development, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce another fantastic housing development for Ascent Homes.

“These superb new properties in Choppington will really boost the housing offer in South East Northumberland and provide high quality homes that showcase the very best of local creativity and craftsmanship.”

Gillian Bell, Ascent’s Head of Sales and Marketing, added: “We are incredibly excited to get started with this brand new scheme, it’s a great location close to amenities, schools and transport links.

“The homes we are going to build are a continuation of our standard house types which we have at two of our other local sites and the feedback from customers has been exceptional, our quality of build and specification is a cut above the rest and I am certain that the homes on this development will be highly sought after for that reason.”