Plans for a series of public events on a proposed new residential development in a County Durham town have now been confirmed in light of the continuing restrictions being caused by the coronavirus.
North East employer Banks Property recently announced that it is considering applying for permission to build up to 100 family homes on a 5.4 hectare site to the north of the A67 Darlington Road, around a mile to the north east of Barnard Castle town centre.
The family-owned firm has now adapted its initial public consultation plans around the scheme and will be holding an appointment-only, socially-distant outside exhibition at the TCR Hub on Shaw Lane in Barnard Castle between 4pm and 7pm on Tuesday 15 September.
Members of the project team will be on hand to provide more information about the proposals, gather feedback and answer visitors’ questions.
In addition to this, the team will also be leading two online consultation webinars, which will begin at 7pm on Monday 14 and Wednesday 16 September.
The Darlington Road site is located alongside the existing Castle Vale development, and has been chosen as the most suitable and sustainable location for new housing in the local area.
It provides direct access to existing local public transport routes and its location will importantly minimise the need for additional traffic to pass through the centre of Barnard Castle.
The project will also include new landscaping and enhancement of wildlife habitats around the site, which is currently agricultural land, and will also see an electric vehicle charging point installed in all homes.
Part of the County Durham-headquartered Banks Group, Banks Property develops brownfield and greenfield sites for commercial and residential property schemes using a ‘development with care’ approach.
Chris Kelsey, communications manager at The Banks Group, says: “We have now developed a programme of events which will enable everyone to safely access all the information they need about our proposals and we’re hoping as many local people as possibly will get in touch about the much-needed high quality homes we’re looking to build in Barnard Castle.
“The Darlington Road site has been chosen as the most appropriate location for a development of this type and would offer a range of different property sizes and designs, including affordable housing, that will enable more people to move to or stay in the area.
“Providing a supply of new family homes is essential to the vitality and sustainability of every community, and in the current economic climate, it is more important than ever to ensure investment continues to flow into local communities and the regional economy.
“We’re excited by the opportunities that this site provides for delivering a high-quality development that will both help address local housing needs and enhance the local community and look forward to sharing more information about it with local residents in the coming months.”
Banks Property is hoping to submit a planning application to Durham County Council in the autumn.
For further information on the Darlington Road development or to make an appointment for the 15 September socially-distant consultation event, please contact the project team via DarlingtonRoadBarnardCastle@banksgroup.co.uk
To register for either of the two webinars, please email darlingtonroad@banksgroup.co.uk