'Now is the time' - 160-home plan for land which has been used for agriculture for more than 150 years

Plans to up to 160 homes are being considered by Stockton Council on land which has been used for farming for over 150 years.

MD Bailey Will Trust and TCC Plant have applied for outline planning permission to build up to 160 homes on land north of Darlington Back Lane, Stockton.

The developer says the 24-acre site has been agricultural fields since 1856, but “now is the time to bring the site forward”, with proposals of “tree-lined streets including green corridors and pedestrian and wildlife crossings”.

It says the development would also boast a “community hub that can contain community buildings, facilities for goods and services that fronts high-quality public realm” including small businesses.

It promises “significant new green infrastructure including cycle routes and footpaths” on the site off Yarm Back Lane.

A planning statement from the applicant’s agent, Valley Environmental Consulting says: “The site comprises 9.71 hectares of agricultural land that is allocated as residential use as set out within the Yarm Back Lane and Harrowgate Masterplan 2015…

"Although the site was initially considered to be brought forward as part of [a] wider masterplan, due to the vagaries of land ownership and multiple landowners this has not been possible.”

It says the proposal stands on its own, providing access to the site and connections to those nearby. It says the site is in the West Stockton Sustainable Urban Extension in the Local Plan which guides planning decisions, “and is an allocated site with the principle of development established for up to 169 homes”.

It adds: “The site has been designed in such a way to accommodate some 160 homes set within distinct development areas which could become bespoke character areas and within a framework of access roads and sustainable travel routes.”

It says it will include “multi-functional green infrastructure”, wildlife areas, woodland, grassland, planting, surface water flooding areas and drainage ponds.

“The proposal has low landscape, air, heritage and noise impacts as at outline stage and poses no ground contamination issues. The proposal has low impacts on ecological features or priority habitat and will deliver significant gains in biodiversity.

More detail on the housing, its sustainability and consideration of primary and secondary schools – “a new on-site facility” for primary, according to the West Stockton Sustainable Urban Extension – will come later, if the outline plan is approved.

The statement says: “Following the submission of the application, the applicant intends to engage with the local community through the hosting of a potential event with key local stakeholders.”

It proposes 32 homes as affordable housing, homes for sale or rent at discounted rates for people whose needs are not met by the private market. It says the site was considered suitable for residential development, “air quality should not be a prohibitive factor”, and double glazing and trickle vents may be needed to lessen noise for the homes nearest the main road.

It says: “The landscape proposed will likely create a low to moderate adverse impact due to the scale of the housing numbers.”

But it says this will be lessened by measures including green corridors, hedgerows, drainage and biodiversity areas.

It lists likely ecological impacts including loss of habitats, nesting and foraging opportunities, disturbance to wildlife “through increased noise, light and human presence”, and risk of entrapment to creatures like badgers and hedgehogs.

It proposes to keep most trees and hedgerows and create more with grassland, woodland and scrub, to “create a greater than 10% uplift in biodiversity”.