A decision on building more than 600 homes will be left to council chiefs after councillors gave it their vote of approval.

The proposals for land at Summerville Farm, Harrowgate Lane, Stockton ask for detailed planning permission for 385 homes and outline approval for 285 homes.

Under the scheme, two to four-bedroom terraced, semi-detached and detached homes will be built on the west of Stockton as part of a “strategic urban extension” totalling 2,150 new homes.

Members of Stockton Council’s planning committee greeted the scheme with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. It attracted seven letters of objection with comments about drains, traffic, roads, facilities, over-development, views, wildlife, litter, anti-social behaviour, noise, house prices, broadband and water.

Jonathan Rudge, project manager and head of land at developer Vistry Partnerships, said they were the largest affordable housing contractor in the country: “We work to deliver new homes under multiple tenures on a single site. That includes homes for open market sale, build-to-rent and affordable.

“We greatly accelerate the pace of developments, building homes far quicker than is typical for a house builder in our sector. We’re committed to delivering a minimum of 134 affordable houses in phase one of the development.

The Northern Echo: Harrowgate Lane, StocktonHarrowgate Lane, Stockton (Image: GOOGLE MAPS)

“Summerville Farm will deliver much-needed new housing to Stockton, with a specific focus to boost affordable housing delivery, at a time when most other house builders are seeking to deliver less.

“Our development will also be gas-free. We will utilise air source heat pumps and solar panels… ensuring occupiers are living in high-quality, energy-efficient homes. If approved today we’re ready to commence the project hopefully in 2024.”

Planning officers recommended that councillors be “minded to approve” the plan, but leave the final decision to a council director. Cllr Lynn Hall queried the implications of this, saying: “Perhaps that’s how things are going to be – officers decide and we, with our local doorstep knowledge, get brushed aside. Is it the tail wagging the dog?”

She said the “short-notice application” proposed 112 properties more than originally envisaged in the urban extension. She said: “This application is lacking in so much detail.”

She raised several points about consultation, roads, access, increased traffic, landscape, trees and hedgerows, cycleways, footpaths, parking, drainage, and affordable housing. Cllr Tony Riordan raised issues about lack of detail, funding, viability and affordable housing, saying it was two plans “dressed up” as one.

He said: “Our own housing manager raises concerns about what is actually on offer. The officers are asking us to do is go against our own policy.

“Why can’t we have the detail? What’s the rush to get this application through.

“We all want affordable housing in Stockton. We all want housing development. But you can’t rubber-stamp.

“What the report is asking us to do is just pass it over to an officer when it lacks detail, important detail. There’s a lack of detail about the finance that comes with providing infrastructure.

“If that finance is found wanting, who’s going to pay for it? The council taxpayers in Stockton are going to pay for it.

“Yes we might get more houses and more council tax, but we need to make sure that these developments comply with our policies that we’ve built up over several years that we’ve all agreed to.”

Other councillors on the committee welcomed the plans. Councillor Barry Woodhouse said to the developers: “Well done. It’s amazing, when this came through I couldn’t believe what a great site it is.”

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Cllr Norma Stephenson said: “I was quite excited about this application when I first read it, about the advanced thinking and the commitment from the applicant. I haven’t heard anything yet that’s changed my mind.

“I have no problem leaving things in the hands of trained, qualified people.”

A proposal by Cllr Riordan to defer the application was defeated by a 7-6 vote. Then councillors voted 7-5 that they were minded to approve, with the decision to be made by the director of finance, transformation and performance, planning services manager and planning committee chair.