THE final draft of a controversial local development plan that could see more than 6,000 new homes built in Darlington has been delayed for several months.

A final draft submission of the Making and Growing Places plan was due to be presented to a Darlington Borough Council cabinet meeting on Tuesday (December 2).

However, it is now expected next summer, with the lengthy delay blamed on outstanding traffic modelling work.

Council leader Bill Dixon admitted the delay was 'annoying' but necessary to ensure planners get the ambitious proposals right the first time.

Cllr Dixon said: “The delays are largely down to the Highways Agency – we can’t go anywhere without them and it is annoying as we thought we had it all boxed off.

“We talked to them before we produced that initial time scale and they have come back to us with other concerns and we have no choice, we have to sort it otherwise every planning appeal will be successful.

“About 90 per cent of the delay is down to traffic surveying and if we press forward with the plan, then we would be in trouble afterwards – it makes sense to get it right the first time as this plan is going to last well into 2025 and beyond and it’s very difficult to unpick these things afterwards.”

A spokeswoman from the council said: “One of the main issues that arose during the consultation process on the Making and Growing Places Development Plan was the impact of traffic at certain sites in the borough.

“In order to address those issues and to fully understand how the plan can be carried out with the least impact on the road network, we want to develop a more detailed traffic model which needs specialist input and computing capacity.

“It will take several months to set up the model, run it and produce outputs, and for these to be considered.

“The results should then inform what highway improvements need to be done and when as development is built out over the period to 2026.”

The Making and Growing Places draft document outlines where the council is considering allowing the development of around 6,000 houses plus amenities and new business premises, with work scheduled for completion by 2026.

For more information, visit the Making and Growing Places section of darlington.gov.uk