Plans for a proposed new residential development to the north of Darlington have been submitted to Darlington Borough Council for review.
North East developer Banks Property launched the Beaumont Hill site in 2019, with dozens of local people engaging with the family business through its subsequent consultation on the project and providing a range of ideas about how the associated benefits package that could be delivered might best be used to enhance the local community.
Since then, further project design work has been undertaken in light of the evolving development strategy for residential property across the wider Darlington area, while at the end of last year, Banks Property held a series of project design workshops with local people and community leaders who had previously taken part in its public consultation activities.
Lewis Stokes, community relations manager at The Banks Group, says: “The variety and number of properties now included within our planning application would make Beaumont Hill an accessible and attractive option for all type of homebuyers.”
As a result of the various community comments received coupled with the findings of further technical work, Banks has finalised a planning application which covers all of the land available in the area and has updated the plans to build up to 600 homes on a 35-hectare site to the south of the River Skerne, between the A167 and the East Coast Mainline.
The project, which is located on a site identified for residential development in the recently adopted Darlington Borough Local Plan, would include a mix of high-quality homes of different sizes and types, including affordable housing and bungalows, as well as a small number of self-build plots.
Substantial areas of public open space, a small retail convenience store unit and a range of biodiversity enhancements also feature in the outline design, while provision for the local distributor road has been made within the revised scheme, should that be needed in the future.
Darlington Borough Council’s planning committee is expected to consider the application before the end of the year.
The Banks Group has worked in and around Darlington on a wide range of projects over many years, with landmark schemes include the Moor House wind farm near Barmpton and two residential developments in Hurworth.
Lewis Stokes added: “We’re excited to have now reached this point and hope Darlington Borough Council’s planning committee will give us the opportunity to deliver a scheme that would provide a wide range of economic, employment, social, supply chain and environmental benefits to the local area.”
Lewis Stokes, community relations manager at The Banks Group, says: “We’ve been continuing to work on the detail of our Beaumont Hill development over the last two and a half years in the context of the evolving local situation, with the involvement of local people, community leaders and other stakeholders being central to the planning application that we have now submitted to Darlington Borough Council.
“These proposals would enable us to create a high-quality residential development at a scale that is wholly appropriate to its setting and that will help address the increasingly urgent demand for a greater supply of quality homes, both locally and right across North East England.
“The variety and number of properties now included within our planning application would make Beaumont Hill an accessible and attractive option for all type of homebuyers, while the public open space and other facilities would help it quickly become a vibrant new community.
“We’re excited to have now reached this point and hope Darlington Borough Council’s planning committee will give us the opportunity to deliver a scheme that would provide a wide range of economic, employment, social, supply chain and environmental benefits to the local area.”
Anyone wishing to get in touch with the Beaumont Hill project team can contact them directly by emailing beaumonthill@banksgroup.co.uk