A planning application for a new residential development near Chester-le-Street has been submitted to Durham County Council for review.
Earlier this year, Banks Property announced outline proposals for a new housing scheme on a 7.4 hectare site on Pelton Lane in Pelton.
Since then, the Durham-headquartered employer has been carrying out a range of consultations with local people, community groups and businesses about the plans for the project, which will be made up of up to 190 new family homes, and how it could support local priorities for community improvement.
More than 50 people have attended three drop-in sessions that Banks Property has so far put on in the local area, with the overwhelming majority of feedback received about the project plans being favourable.
Lewis Stokes, community relations manager at The Banks Group, which employs around 126 people from County Durham, says: “We’re very pleased with the constructive local discussions we’ve had over recent months around our Pelton Lane proposals, and especially with the relationship we’ve been able to build with the members of the Newfield & Pelton Lane Residents Association, who have engaged very positively with the consultation process.
“Our developments are always designed to bring a range of economic, employment, environmental, supply chain and social benefits to the areas in which they’re based, and we’ve had some extremely useful ideas from local people on how we might do this at Pelton Lane which have been factored into our planning application.
“Our Pelton Lane scheme would be located on a site that has previously been identified as suitable for this sort of development, and is in an area where we are certain there will be strong demand for the homes that would be built on this site.
“We’re very pleased to have reached this important landmark in the project’s development, and look forward to making what we believe to be a very strong case for its approval when it comes up for determination next year.”
The planning application is expected to come before Durham County Council’s planning committee in the first half of 2017.
Banks Property will be holding a fourth drop-in session on the Pelton Lane proposals in the Community Rooms at Pelton Roseberry Primary School between 3pm and 7pm on Monday 9 January 2017.
For further information on the scheme, and to sign up in support of it, please visit www.banksgroup.co.uk/