Ponteland residents are totally shocked by the sudden about turn of Northumberland County Council as it abandons years of opposition to the developer Lugano’s development plans, particularly for its previous attempt at a Garden Village at Birnie Hill, Ponteland. In an about turn the County Council now proposes to work directly with its old adversary to concrete over hundreds of acres of much valued Greenbelt land and to pressure local infrastructure to unsustainable levels.

Only a year ago the very same County Council expended a huge amount of its own time as well as spending tens of thousands on top barristers fighting off Lugano’s previous proposal for a much smaller “Garden Village” proposal at Birnie Hill on the opposite side of Ponteland. At that protracted and very expensive Planning Inquiry the independent Planning Inspector ruled that the reasons put forward for development were flawed then, just as they are now. In particular the Inspector ruled that there were no “special circumstances” for ripping up designated Greenbelt, that this would not make a significant contribution to economic growth and that Northumberland had a reasonable number of housing sites in its five year supply outlook.

Of course any new plans must be evaluated separately but it seems difficult to see that circumstances have changed dramatically in the last year. In fact the housing site supply figures in Northumberland have increased in that period, reducing the need for even more.   

The Ponteland County Councillors, Coun Veronica Jones, Coun Eileen Armstrong, Coun Richard Dodd and Coun Peter Jackson, are united in opposing this latest NCC plan to fundamentally change this community. The first they have seen of this proposal was on the day the Council press release went out. 

Speaking for all four Coun Peter Jackson said, “It is a matter of extreme concern that elected Councillors are being kept in the dark about issues which will fundamentally affect their communities.  This is increasingly happening not just in Ponteland but all over Northumberland. We find it difficult to understand how it is that the County Council can actively promote even more house building in Northumberland as it is obvious that the general infrastructure of our towns is being overwhelmed.

At last year’s Inquiry into Birnie Hill the Inspector threw out all of Lugano’s overblown claims as having little substance. I cannot believe that the County Council can now be so shallow as to fall for similar empty and unjustified promises.

The County Council has put itself in a difficult position as it is clear that the County Council in its recent SHLA process, looking at potential housing sites has just decreed that this land at Dissington is “not suitable for housing”. How can we believe any of their statements now?  

In any case it seems as though the Council has not done its homework. These new plans do not fall into the Government’s criteria for such developments on several grounds. So the Council needs to show that it has consulted and that the plan has a large degree of local support. This is unlikely. The Council needs to show that this is “not an extension to an existing town or village”. This is unlikely as this is clearly an extension of Ponteland village. The County Council is also required to demonstrate that this is part of its wider strategy. This is unlikely given the lack of sound evidence in their existing proposals.  

Taken together with existing plans the Ponteland community will be suffering from the pressure of an extra 3,250 houses within the next few years. This pressure of development is certainly not sustainable on several levels and it will have serious effects upon the local community. 

The public will soon realise the negative impacts of this plan upon the everyday lives of residents of Ponteland and the surrounding area. Not only will there be a huge increase in local traffic with the subsequent increases in congestion (even allowing for a relief road of some kind) but all other basic services will be overwhelmed such as the schools and local health/GP services. Local car parks are full now so what is going to happen there? 

This so-called Garden Village scheme will simply become just another dormitory for commuters offering very little towards a sustainable community, with a lack of public transport and basic local amenities to sustain these thousands of additional residents.   

 To bring this report forward without going through any proper democratic process as an emergency item with just one working day’s notice and against all of its current Core Strategy plans is indication enough that Northumberland County Council is increasingly acting like a dictatorship imposing its will upon all areas of Northumberland riding roughshod over all sense and local opinion.”