TV detectives chosen for the names of streets at housing development

Brenda Blethyn, left, and a fellow actress recording a scene for the Vera television show. Picture by Frank Reid.

Bellway purchased the land with planning consent for 275 homes in 2018, calling the new development Jameson Manor.

Street signs at the site off North Road have now been installed – bearing names including Lynley Way, Morse Crescent, Frost Grove, Taggart Grove, Barnaby Way, Holmes Row, Wycliffe Close, Dalgleish Road, Vera Drive, Dixon Close, Lewis Close, and Wexford Place.

Emma Chesterton, head of sales for Bellway North East, said: “This part of Ponteland will always be known for its connections with Northumbria Police and we have looked to honour that history throughout the development.

The Listed at Ottermead at Bellway’s Jameson Manor scheme in Ponteland.

“The naming of the streets is one of the more light-hearted aspects of our work to ensure the policing heritage is remembered. The classic TV detective names were conceived as a fun reminder of the site’s past.”

Another element of the policing legacy to be preserved comes in the form of the Grade II Listed buildings on the site.

Once known as the Ponteland Cottage Homes, they were later used as part of the police headquarters.

Bellway has refurbished the cottages to create 22 homes in a collection known as The Listed at Ottermead.

Emma said: “With The Listed, every detail of the restoration has been attended to meticulously to preserve original features while bringing the homes up to modern-day standards.

“However, we did find space for another less formal echo of their former use with a police-themed children’s bedroom in the showhome.”

Bellway is building 206 homes at its development, Ottermead at Jameson Manor. The remaining 69 homes have been built by Ashberry Homes, which is part of the Bellway group.

Northumbria Police sold the former headquarters and surrounding land to Bellway in 2018 after it was deemed surplus to requirements for operational policing.

The police authority vowed to reinvest the £21million raised by the sale back into local policing.

For more information about homes at Jameson Manor, go to bellway.co.uk or call 0191 3790320.