A council leader has asked whether opposition councillors would scrap plans for the Skerningham garden village, as a debate over the controversial Darlington development continues.

The leaders of the Labour and Green party were both pushed for a ‘yes or no’ answer by council leader Jonathan Dulston ahead of the local elections in May.

It comes as campaigners remain concerned over the future of a woodland despite council assurances that it will be ‘protected and preserved’. Although the council said the site had been ‘saved’ many fear a new access road will be created through the woodland.

Further details of the site plan and location of the new road are not expected to be revealed until a planning application is submitted – but opposition members continue to press the council on what its plans are for the site.

The Northern Echo: The Skerningham development is due to be built to the north of the town The Skerningham development is due to be built to the north of the town (Image: The Northern Echo)

Cllr Stephen Harker, Labour leader, responded: “It’s a very disingenuous question because a decision has been made and the Local Plan is in place. You have made the decision, it is set in stone, and you have stuck with the decision you made in 2019.

“Unless there is significant change to what is happening, council’s do not have the opportunity to make significant changes to the Local Plan without justification. My understanding is that the local authority is not able to make significant changes to the Local Plan.”

The Darlington Local Plan, which includes up to 4,500 homes at Skerningham, was approved at a council meeting last February. The 20-year plan sets out planning priorities for the area until 2036.

Last year, Cllr Matthew Snedker, of the Green party, voted against the “dreadful” Local Plan but said it would be “irresponsible” to provide a definitive answer to cllr Dulston’s question without further information.

He said: “The Local Plan is now an adopted document, there are opportunities every five years to modify the plan and those modifications need to be founded in law, and they need to be presented in a way which protects the council from legal challenges from land owners and developers.

“I do not have an understanding at this moment in time whether significant modification of the Local Plan at the next checkpoint will be defendable for whichever areas are currently under consideration. Without that planning expertise it would be irresponsible for me to try and commit this council to maybe change the Local Plan at some point in the future.

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“My position on the Local Plan was clear; I voted against it and you voted for it. I’m not in a position to be irresponsible to a change in the future without consideration on the most up to date information at the time.

“If there is an opportunity to review the Local Plan in the future I will fully engage with that consideration.”