Outline planning application submitted for 99 homes at controversial Seaton Delaval site

An application has been made to build across from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s manufacturing facility on Avenue Road.

Most of the site is classed as ‘white land’ as it has no designated planning purpose. A small section is green belt, but no homes are proposed to be built there.

The application said: “This will benefit local residents in need as well as helping the council meet its affordable housing targets.

“This outline planning proposal provides a firm foundation to deliver high quality homes on the site for local families in a sustainable location that provides a safe and accessible environment which minimises conflict between traffic and pedestrians.”

If plans go ahead, 10% of the homes at the site would have to meet the criteria to be deemed ‘affordable’.

The application continues: “The proposal is located in an area with good public transport links and is close to local amenities.

“This means that new residents will likely rely less on the private car to meet some, if not all, of their daily needs.

“The provision of homes will contribute to an increase in council tax receipts whilst residents will support local services and facilities and those in the centre of Seaton Delaval and further afield including Cramlington town centre.

“The applicant would hope that approving an outline planning application with all matters reserved would be another step forward in providing much needed quality homes in the area in the near future.”

The applicant and landowner Duo Renovations Ltd has no online presence and their design agent Mcbethdesign said no one from the company was available to comment.

Planning controversy

The site has a recent history regarding planning rules, with an application by Bellway Homes proving controversial.

Councillors were unable to decide on the fate of the developer’s application, filed in May 2021, to build 92 houses at the site after Northumbria Healthcare raised objections.

Bellway’s application was withdrawn in February 2023 before a final decision was made.

The new outline application has not received any public comments yet, but the only consultee to respond so far, Northumbria Police, has raised a concern.

The statement from Allan Brown, designing out crime officer at the force, said the application contained insufficient detail to comment fully, but that he suspected high use of terraced properties with rear access paths would be necessary to fit 99 homes on the plot.

He said: “We are cautious about an over reliance of such housing types, particularly should the planning authority also determine that the development should be more permeable, as this arrangement can lead to the creation of problematic space that renders homes more vulnerable.

“We therefore wonder at this early stage whether the proposal for 99 homes is somewhat compromised by the inclusion of so much terraced property and we await the future more detailed plans with interest.”

Should the application be approved, further permission would be needed on the actual design details for the site.