An East Cramlington business owner has backed plans for a new housing development in their area that they believe will boost trade for local firms.
North East employer Banks Property is putting forward plans for the proposed Chapel View residential scheme, which would sit on an eight hectare site to the south of the B1326 and the east of the A189.
The scheme would include 194 two-storey homes for families and first time buyers, as well as areas of informal green space, and would sit to the east of the Northumberland town’s new specialist Emergency Care Hospital.
Banks introduced its Chapel View plans to around 60 people at a community event held in the neighbourhood in November, and has also been proactively talking to local business owners about what they’re looking to do, one of whom was Lesley Scott, co-owner of Doodle Bugs Ceramics and Crafts on the East Cramlington Industrial Estate’s Old Stone Road.
Doodle Bugs runs pottery painting parties for both children, adults and school and day care centre groups, as well as selling a range of finished products, and has been in its present location for around 18 months.
Lesley Scott says: “While we attract visitors from across the North East and also increasingly sell our goods online, most of our customers come from the local area, and our aim is to grow this business from this location in the future.
“I believe East Cramlington is quite an under-developed area with the capacity for the sort of development that’s being proposed here, and having more young families in the area can only be beneficial for Doodle Bugs’ future growth.”
The Banks Group is one of Northumberland’s largest private sector employers, with around 200 people employed at the nearby Shotton and Brenkley Lane surface mines. The North East family business has worked in the area for more than three decades, and its local operations contribute around £35m to the regional economy every year through wages, investments and the local supply chain.
Mark Dowdall, environment and community director at The Banks Group, says: “All our projects are designed to bring a range of economic, employment, environmental, supply chain and social benefits to the areas in which they’re based, and it’s pleasing to see an appreciation of the positive impact that the Chapel View scheme could have for businesses in East Cramlington.
“We’ve had a generally positive response from people in the area about what we’re looking to do in their community, and believe that this project would help to address the clear and increasingly pressing need across the North East to boost the available supply of quality homes.
“The Chapel View development already has excellent road and sustainable transport links, would be designed to complement existing residential development within the local community, and is located in an area where we are certain there will be strong demand for the type of high quality housing that we are proposing.”
A planning application for the Chapel View development is now expected to be submitted to Northumberland County Council early in 2015. For further information on Banks’ outline plans, please visitwww.banksgroup.co.uk/chapel-view, where you can also register your support for the project, or contact the project team via chapelview@banksgroup.co.uk
For more information on Doodle Bugs Ceramics and Crafts, please visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/Doodle-Bugs-Ceramics-Crafts/374927614764