A recent article quoted Durham’s chief planning officer using language indicating he regards as a fait accompli the ‘big development’ at High Copelaw. In fact this is still subject to ongoing consultation.
The draft County Durham Plan seems to be based on a lot of demographic and socioeconomic statistics, a computer model and a key underlying Government steer that the area has to have economic growth. However, cynics might say some of the key assumptions underlying the model amount to little more than guesswork designed to support politically desired outcomes.
The model concludes that, to achieve the economic growth required, the area needs to import skilled people from other parts of the country (because there aren’t enough here already!). This, combined with the fact that people are living longer, means we will have population growth, so County Durham will need more housing, including more top end housing for all the skilled people coming from elsewhere.
Newton Aycliffe is identified as one of the key places earmarked for economic and population growth. Copelaw seems aimed mainly at providing more top end housing.
At the time of writing there have only been 5 written responses to the consultation on the proposed Copelaw development (which opened on 14 October), including my own, none of which support it.
Despite this, the Council states ‘evidence based work and consultation undertaken to date continues to support the release of the Low Copelaw site for housing to deliver the growth required in the South Durham area’.
This is a large proposed development of 1,400 dwellings (circa 4,000 people, I guess) or 10-15% of the existing town population, which would stretch from just north of the Young People’s Centre to just south of the Gretna, and east from the A167 to beyond High Copelaw farm – you can see the plans and comment on them online (Google County Durham Plan, click on County Durham Plan Consultation Pages, then Low Copelaw). Note that the area to be developed doesn’t seem to actually cover Low Copelaw, which is a bit confusing.
The plans show the extent to which the development would involve significant encroachment into the countryside and expansion of the town already feeling too large for its infrastructure. It would also involve more traffic lights (and, presumably, congestion) on the A167.
I wonder if the Plan really offers robust enough evidence that there will be significant demand for large numbers of further new homes in Newton Aycliffe? There are currently plenty houses for sale and further supply would weaken the values of existing properties and/or the ability of homeowners to sell. If there is indeed a case for building, should it not be within the existing town boundaries on brown field sites?
Would the Council, which is currently trying to slash its costs, not incur more costs if there are more people, more houses, more roads, more rubbish to collect etc? How will they pay for this?
Hitachi, assuming it proceeds as planned, will offer additional jobs, and may well attract other businesses, but there are already a lot of good people looking for work from the town and its vicinity. Do all these new workers really need to live in the town in yet more housing, and what happens if, like Fujitsu, it disappears after a few years?
Furthermore, if there are to be so many more jobs, why do we need to assume the workers will all want to live on the town? There are many other towns and villages within easy commuting distance.
If you share my concerns, you should let your views be known before 9 December.
John Snowball