Housing developers have received approval to progress plans for a huge new housing estate to the west of Darlington. 

The proposals - up to 535 homes north of Coniscliffe Road and 985 homes south of Staindrop Road - are part of a wider masterplan for the area. 

The 190 acre-development as a whole will create up to 1,520 homes, along with a range of facilities including a local convenience store, a primary school, a GP Surgery and recreational facilities. The two sites would be linked together by a central spine road.

Located on the western edge of Darlington bound by the Baydale Beck to the east and the A1(M) to the west, the new estate would see a significant increase in people living in the area. Also nearby is the Mowden housing estate and Broken Scar Water Treatment Works. 

The Northern Echo: Where the new housing will be built Where the new housing will be built (Image: The Northern Echo)A mix of two-bed to five-bed homes are proposed for the site including 304 affordable homes. The application site is designated for housing in the Darlington Local Plan, which it says will contribute towards meeting the borough’s housing need. 

However, a planning meeting heard the applications had attracted hundreds of objections from residents. Concerns include the impact the 1,520 homes will have on existing local services including schools and GPs, with people already struggling to secure places or appointments. 

Cllr Paul Cruddas, speaking on behalf of Coniscliffe and Merrybent residents, said: “It’s a big change to our parish and it will almost double the number of people in the ward.”

Mowden councillors Pauline Culley and Alan Marshall said the majority of residents are against the development and residents had questioned whether there is a plan to deal with the increased traffic in the area. 

“They cite the increased traffic down Staindrop Road, which is already creaking at the seams,” Cllr Culley said.

“However, the most immediate mitigation measures for current and excess traffic have stalled as the council did not receive the funding to build the roundabouts at the bottom of Staindrop Road and in Cockerton ahead of the work beginning on Coniscliffe Park.”

But Darlington planning officer Arthur Howson said it should not be an issue.

“We have got a lot of assurance that the network won’t be severely impacted,” he added. 

Concerns over an increased amount of sewage in the area, given the site’s proximity to the Northumbrian Water Broken Scar treatment works, were also raised. 

A Green Party motion to defer the meeting was voted down by five votes to four. Committee members and residents argued there wasn’t enough time to consider the proposal due to the alleged short notice of the meeting. 

The request was backed by Cllr Culley, not a member of the committee, but who also criticised the council’s decision to consider the applications this week. 

“The applications for Coniscliffe Park have rumbled on for six years and we have assured our residents that their views would be taken into account at the appropriate time. 

“You then set up an emergency meeting with just over a week’s notice in the week before Christmas.  

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“It is an own goal that begs the questions, why the unseemly haste, why put the three largest and most contentious building projects the town has seen since Skerningham into the same meeting and why couldn’t it wait until the next meeting on January 10?”

Despite the concerns, Darlington Borough Council’s planning committee backed the recommendation to approve the scheme. 

Work on the 535 homes by Taylor Wimpey is due to start in 2025. Gladman Developments, the applicant for the 985 homes, are due to offer the site to housing developers in 2024.