Date set for inquiry into plans for 600 homes

A date for a public inquiry into plans for up to 600 homes has been announced.

Stockton Council's planning committee rejected Taylor Wimpey's £133m proposal for land east of Holdenfields Farm on Green Lane, Yarm, in March.

The plans attracted hundreds of objections and now a Planning Inspectorate inquiry, which is expected to last a week, is set to begin on 15 September.

Inspector George Underwood will hear statements and evidence from Labour-led Stockton Council and developer Taylor Wimpey via formal presentations and he will visit the site at the end of the inquiry.

Residents had raised issues about the development, saying the "infrastructure cannot support" the amount of homes and claimed it would cause "chaos".

Their concerns centred on congestion, including on Yarm High Street, heritage and the impact on schools and medical practices.

Taylor Wimpey said the "relatively modest" number of homes would bring "substantial and material benefits", including £85m into the economy and more than 200 jobs.

The inspectorate says the main issues in the case are likely to cover whether the development would be in an accessible and sustainable location, the effects on the area's character, appearance, roads and biodiversity including protected species, local wildlife sites and woodland.

It will also include "whether or not the development would provide the infrastructure necessary to support it".

Underwood said, in a case management note posted on the council's planning portal: "In addition, I will need to hear evidence on matters influencing the planning balance including whether or not any adverse impacts of the development would significantly and demonstrably outweigh any benefits."

He asked for the main parties' positions on other matters including landscape, ecology surveys, nutrients, transport and the Yarm Golf Driving Range.

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