Fury at 283 homes plan
FEARS NEW HOMES WILL BRING TRAFFIC DANGER TO VILLAGE
FURIOUS residents have united against proposals that will see hundreds of houses built on the outskirts of a Gateshead village.
And on the eve of the planning committee vote, yesterday, one resident warned that extra traffic created by the scheme could be fatal.
Plans to build 283 homes on land near Ryton village as part of a multimillion pound project have already been recommended for approval, despite an outcry from the community.
The proposals, from developer Bellway, could see a mixture of two-, threeand four-bedroom homes built at the site on the southern edge of Ryton.
Plans for the 16.7 hectare site, accessed by Cushy Cow Lane, feature landscaped recreation space with views to the south and wetlands.
But residents of nearby Low Row have united to protest about the plans, which they say will bring traffic chaos to the area.
They also say they would have to endure years of disruption while the houses are being built.
Win Brown said: “I appreciate the need for homes but they shouldn’t be to the detriment of existing residents.
“The extra traffic on this stretch of road is going to have a huge detrimental impact on the area. Construction could take seven to eight years and in that time we will have to put up with extra traffic from the building site.”
They said Low Row was already clogged with commuter traffic as well as heavy vehicles from Stargate Industrial Estate.
“The councils are putting air quality management in place in Gateshead and Newcastle but they’re prepared to let us suffer, it’s a joke,” said Maureen Morris.
Ray Tennant added: “We already get lots of heavy goods vehicles from the trading estate using the road and we get a lot of heavy plant equipment.”
Merenyn Lang urged Gateshead Council to listen to the concerns of local people. “These are long-term residents, they have lived here for decades, these are not fly-by-night concerns, they’re serious,” she said.
“Quite clearly there is too much traffic already. If these plans go through, the road will be extremely dangerous. This is an old pit village, it isn’t built for traffic like this. There’s no question about it, there will be a fatality.”
This was echoed by Roy Greener who said: “When you come out on to the road you’re taking your life into your hands.”
Roger Snodin, who heads up the Ryton Green Belt Protection Group, said that extra traffic wasn’t the only problem the new homes would bring, and raised concerns about the impact of sky larks nesting in the area.
Local MP Liz Twist and ward councillor Chris Buckley have backed their constituents and sent letters to the authority objecting to the plans.
Council planners have recommended the scheme be given the green light saying the “principle of the development is clearly acceptable” as the land is earmarked for housing.
Housing bosses say the scheme will hand the area an economic boost, claiming it will generate the equivalent of around 33 direct full-time jobs in the construction phase, as well as 39 ‘indirect’ full-time jobs.
The total construction investment value is approximately £39m and the New Homes Bonus paid out to the council from Government is around £2.5m. Furthermore around £420,000 in council tax is expected to fill the authority’s coffers as a result of the new houses. The total gross spending power of the development would be approximately £6.3m per year, based on average spend of households in the North East.
A spokesman for Bellway Homes said: “The scheme brings muchneeded housing to Gateshead, which will attract new home owners and investment into the area, which in turn will help to support existing businesses and provide high-quality accommodation for the local workforce.”