(Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO / TW)
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A council “utterly ignored” a national housing crisis in its “flimsy doctrine of despair” against a 600 home estate in Yarm, a developer’s barrister has argued.
KC Sasha White launched a scathing attack on Stockton Borough Council’s “dramatic underdelivering of homes” as a public inquiry into Taylor Wimpey’s plan for Green Lane concluded.
He claimed the council had not put in a “scintilla of effort” to alleviate a “serious” housing shortfall, saying: “I have put more effort into getting this coffee during the break.”
But Mr White tore apart the council’s argument in his closing remarks at Dunedin House in Thornaby today (September 24), asking the government inspector to think of the families “whose lives will be transformed” by the development.
A satellite map of the site where Taylor Wimpey proposes to build up to 600 homes in Yarm. Picture: Taylor Wimpey.
He said the council was “dramatically failing to comply” with the requirement to provide enough affordable housing.
“There are thousands of young people who cannot afford a home,” he said.
“There are thousands of young people having to live with their parents. There are thousands of young people to whom home ownership is a dream not a reality.
“Those thousands of people are not heard in planning. They are shouted down by those who in contrast have houses, have heating, have spare bedrooms, have gardens, have drives.”
KC Sasha White at the public inquiry (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)
He added: “What has [the council] done to try and meet or at least alleviate the housing shortfall?
“The truth as this inquiry has shown is literally nothing. Not so much as a scintilla of effort. I have put more effort into getting this coffee during the break.”
A ‘weak’ case
Mr White argued that, during the inquiry, the council’s case has not improved but instead “narrowed, shifted, mutated, and become less defensible as the evidence has been tested”.
A key issue he highlighted was how the council did not secure its ecology witness until one week before the exchange of evidence.
Fields off Green Lane in Yarm, where Taylor Wimpey wants to build 600 new homes (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)
He said this showed that the council felt the ecology concerns were “of such little magnitude and importance” and branded the desk-based criticisms of the expert “utterly remarkable”.
Mr White also took aim at highway concerns, saying the inquiry had “not heard one second of professional highway advice from anyone opposing the grant of consent.”
He said the transport case was unsupported by the highway authorities but “solely by a member with not a shred of professional expertise in the field”.
He argued that the harms of the development were “limited and capable of mitigation” whereas the benefits are “real, immediate, and substantial”.
When it came to sustainability, Mr White said no officer had contended seriously that it was unsustainable, noting the addition of two “safe and excellent quality” junctions and the opportunity for non-car transport being “maximised”.
The Yarm public inquiry (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)
Addressing concerns about it “lacking proper integration” with Yarm, he said there was “no aspect of remoteness” felt on the site and that it “could not actually be closer” to the town.
He added: “Even if the development comes forward, the whole of the south of Yarm will still be surrounded by countryside.
“Impacts to existing landscape elements, such as the minor loss of trees at the two access points to the site, will be mitigated by a substantial amount of replacement native tree and shrub planting, and the provision of recreational and play facilities.”
Mr White said that Yarm’s DNA is “that of significant expansion” and that, for a site this large, the level of potential harm is “remarkably small”.
He argued that concerns over the impact of dog walking, anti-social behaviour, and trampling on the nearby area “could happen irrespective of this development”.
He also noted that there are 16 hectares to the south that provide a “number of opportunities for habitat creation”.
No evidence of ‘severe impact’ on roads
During his closing statement at the inquiry on Thursday, Barrister John Hunter, for the council, said the impact on roads would "not be minimal or imperceptible".
He said there would be "substantial increases in journey times" and "real adverse effects", with the potential for the morning traffic peak journey time on Green Lane heading east to rise by 81 per cent, an overall increase of four minutes and six seconds.
But Mr White argued the worst-case impact would be just one minute and 27 seconds during the same time frame.
The plans for the new Yarm homes off Green Lane (Image: P+HS ARCHITECTS / TAYLOR WIMPEY)
“There is no evidence to suggest that the appeal proposals would have an adverse effect on road safety or the number of accidents in the vicinity,” he said.
“There is no evidence of a severe impact on the highway network.”
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Addressing the electricity supply, which at its current capacity could only support 20 to 40 homes on the site, Mr White said Northern Powergrid “has a statutory duty to provide a grid connection for the site.”
Concluding, he said: “It is so easy to find reasons to say no, encapsulated in the negativity of the Council’s closing.
“If you say no to the status quo of failure and under provision, you will get endorsement for another three years with just continued hardship, a vast housing register, and a vast shortfall.”
Inspector George Underwood closed the inquiry and will now make a decision.