£10m for road to new homes
BUT PLANS FOR 2,000 HOUSES MET WITH ANGRY OBJECTIONS
PLANS to build 2,000 new homes at Killingworth Moor have been handed a £10m boost – but hundreds of angry residents are still fighting to save their “oasis”.
North Tyneside Council formally accepted a multi-million-pound government grant on Tuesday night, with the cash due to be spent on a new link road to open up the site.
However, the Stop Killing Killingworth action group is pleading with council chiefs to abandon the plans and protect the “beautiful” moor and its wildlife from development.
Group spokesman Alan Baty said: “It is a fantastic place, I have lived here for 28 years and it is one of the reasons we bought our house.
“I see it as our little oasis, it is brilliant for our health and wellbeing. There are always dozens of people on there with their kids, or on their bikes, or walking their dogs.
“It is a beautiful area. Even if the council only put 10 houses there it would ruin it, but to have 2,000 is crazy. I can already get to work three times quicker on my bike than in the car – how much worse will the roads be now?”
Plans were unveiled this summer for Cussins and Story Homes to build 560 of the houses earmarked for the land, and Mr Baty is urging “as many people as possible” to lodge objections with the council.
The grant will be used to construct a road linking the A1056 Killingworth Way and B1317 Killingworth Lane.
North Tyneside’s deputy mayor, Bruce Pickard, told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the cash will deliver “necessary infrastructure” to help deliver around 12% of the 16,500 new homes needed in the borough by 2032.
Coun Steve Cox added: “We often get complaints from people who move into new developments and end up living on building sites for five or 10 years. This will hopefully speed up the delivery of the houses and make the whole process a lot smoother.”
The only proposed new housing site in North Tyneside bigger than Killingworth Moor is the Murton Gap, where 3,000 homes are due to be built.