More details have been released referring to the new planned housing development in Consett. With Durham County Council proposing 30,000 housing units in County Durham to be built before 2030, there has been certain speculation surrounding the location of these residential areas. The distribution of these houses has now been revealed with Durham County Council planning to place over 10% of the new homes in Consett. Durham will be biggest area of expansion but Consett falls second on that list with 3,200 housing units.
Unlike Consett, areas such as Stanley and Chester Le Street will see much smaller allocations of housing units due to factors such like unsuitable developments sites and risk of flooding. With only 1250 units being proposed for Stanley, the government also believe that 1200 of Consett’s new housing be used to combat the shortfall of houses in Stanley. Whilst the addition of houses in Consett could be a good thing for local business and enterprise, there are many issues which could be a problem.
With Berry Edge farm being considered as a development site, campaigners are worried that more houses here could cause problems with the local infrastructure. Medomsley road is already one of Consett’s most heavily used roads with a large percentage of traffic from the area heading into the town centre. With more houses in an area which would use this road as a main access point could cause some serious disruption to traffic in the area. Along with this there are concerns that the Fairways estate may be used by some to avoid heavy traffic creating somewhat of a shortcut which could inconvenience the residents and cause significant safety concerns.
By building houses at Berry Edge Farm, we will be extending into the pristine countryside which surrounds Consett. This could possibly pave the way for more areas of natural beauty to be overtaken by suburban sprawl. I for one am proud of Consett and the nature which surrounds it and it would be a shame to let it go.
If you have any concerns on the development, the Fairways resident’s committee are meeting on Sunday 18th November at the Number 1 Club regarding this matter or you can voice your objections to the council before the 26th of November.
Thank you to Bernice Nesham for sending us information surrounding this matter.
This will be great for consett!
Not at the cost of loosing more greenfields
Wildlife and with increase in traffic could put
People at risk. Not to mention pollution.
Hey some days it already takes us residents
Over 12 mins to get out of the estate. You can have
It in yr back garden!!!
Stop urban sprawl.
If the academy goes ahead on Belle View and Berry edge that’s two greenfields we’ll loose!!
Also the increase in volume in traffic-nightmare.
And currently this field is used for agricultural purposes-surely we need to help the local farmers not decrease their land for houses!
How can this be good for Consett? This is a joke when there are so many houses already empty in the area.
Bringing more jobs and incentives to businesses in Consett would be far better than just building more ugly box houses!
more people, more business. this could change consett for the better.
Why dont the useless council try and increae infrastructure and more importantly facilities like Doctors surgeries etc before planning on building more houses.
Greedy sods
A modicum of houses of all types and values would be a plus for Consett as the demographic has been changing but if recent history is anything to go by, local residents’ views will not be heard. Unemployment is the key issue and once that has been addressed, Consett will be less of a dormitory town to Durham and more a place in its own right. The Genesis Project needs to be aware of the changing demands of the local population and the need for more retail outlets, restaurants and alternative facilities so that outsiders don’t visit the town simply for the supermarkets. The Consett of today has superb scenery surrounding it and all efforts should be made to keep it in pristine condition. Berry Edge will mean that a new primary is required. It needs a state run school, not a free school and all local residents should endeavour to attend meetings dealing with the proposed free school and stop it in its tracks. Money spent on free schools mean money being taken from the needs of other local schools. The head who has proposed this free school is highly dismissive of the efforts of Consett teachers to improve the life chances of our local children and his comments are insulting.
We need more facilities first.