Second bid for major housing development in Longframlington due for approval by Northumberland County Council

Entrance into Longframlington. Picture c/o Google Streetview

Proposals for 58 three, four and five-bedroom houses and bungalows as well as two-bedroom apartments, on land north of Fairfields, were submitted in September 2018 and then recommended for approval at the North Northumberland Local Area Council meeting last August.

However, members went against the advice as they felt the development would have a detrimental effect on the character of the local area and that the design was out of keeping with the village.

The applicant, Tantallon Homes, then submitted a second scheme in November, this time for 47 properties, on the same site – which has an extant permission for 17 detached homes.

These plans, for two, three, four and five-bedroom houses, including bungalows, are now recommended for approval on Thursday March 19, despite objections from Longframlington Parish Council and 12 neighbours.

Approval would be subject to a section 106 legal agreement to secure £72,000 for education, £32,700 for healthcare and eight on-site affordable homes.

As reported in January, an appeal has also been lodged against the refusal of the first application, meaning the final decision will be made by a planning inspector.

Longframlington has continued to be a target for housing developers, with the local area council twice rejecting plans for 40 homes on the site across the road – land south of Lightpipe Farm.

An appeal over the first refusal was dismissed, but only due to a legal technicality, and the second was a ‘minded to’ decision, as an appeal for non-determination – not dealing with the application quickly enough – had already been submitted, so again the ball is in the court of a planning inspector.

An inspector did side with the committee on its refusal of a bid for nine homes on the village’s former Westroad Garage site last September, but a reduced scheme – for four properties – was permitted under delegated powers last month.

Last summer, an inspector agreed with the council that proposals for 24 properties on land west of Hawthorns, across the A697 from the cemetery, should not go ahead.