‘The council made us a promise and they are not honouring it’
NEWCASTLE council chiefs have been accused of breaking a promise to furious residents over controversial housing plans in the city’s outer west.
Plans for 60 homes and a children’s care facility on a field next to the West Denton Community Centre were shelved in February, after a backlash from locals desperate for the green space to be protected.
City council leader Nick Forbes promised that all development plans for the site would be on hold until “meaningful engagement” was carried out with the outraged community.
But residents have been left dismayed after being told last week that developer Tolent is now working on revised designs – despite no consultation talks being held in the past six months.
Angela Olver, of the Save Our Field campaign, said: “They say they want to listen to residents, but they don’t. I think maybe they are just trying to use Covid to sneak this through.
“If they just run another regular 21-day consultation through the planning system, that is not good enough. Twenty-one days to object is fine if your neighbour is building an extension, but not something like this that affects the whole community.
“The council is not going to get away with this, we will make sure everyone knows what is happening.
“They made us a promise and they are not honouring it, I am not happy at all.”
In a letter sent out by local councillors to West Denton residents last week, they confirmed that Tolent “has agreed to reassess the site to try and meet expectations raised”.
The update came despite Coun Forbes’ pledge in February that he was “putting on hold all plans for this site until we have carried out meaningful engagement”.
The Labour leader said earlier this year: “One of our priorities is to see more homes being built across the city but we won’t do this to the detriment of existing residents. My message is clear; we will draw a halt to the plans for this site and engage with residents. We are in listening mode.”
A council spokesman claimed that Tolent was simply reviewing the area “to consider what is feasible ahead of public consultation”.
They said: “The site is still allocated on our local plan and any developer can survey the site ahead of submitting an application.
“Residents made it very clear what they wanted to see on the site and we have been assured by developers this will be considered along with the need for more housing in Newcastle. “Ms Olver should be reassured that the councillors have sent this letter in order to ensure a high level of transparency and communication as the site develops.”