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Ward Boundary Review Darlington Borough Council Liberal Democrat

Ward Boundary Review

Darlington Borough Council

Liberal Democrat Party Group

Submission December 2013 Background

1. Following the announcement by the Local Government Boundary Commission for (LGBCE) that the recommended council size for will be 50 members, meetings were held to discuss a submission in relation to the ward boundary element of the Further Electoral Review. It became apparent that the Darlington Conservative and Labour party groups were meeting to create a joint proposal on ward boundaries. The Liberal Democrat group have therefore produced a separate proposal. The following submission and the appended maps set out our proposal for a revised pattern of wards for the Borough.

Introduction

2. Darlington Borough comprises a traditional market town with several rural centres. It covers an area of 197 km2 and has a population of 105,600 (ONS mid-2011 estimate) with 85% living in the compact urban core. The population has increased by nearly 7,700 (97,900, ONS mid-2001estimate) since mid-2001. As at mid-2011 Darlington’s population represents 15.9% of the total of 663,100 and 17.1% of the historic County of Durham population of 618,600.

3. The Liberal Democrat (Lib Dem) proposals are based on the guidance provided by the Boundary Commission. The primary objective is to achieve electoral equality within an acceptable variance on the number of residents per Councillor in all wards. If this variance is unacceptably large in any ward that we propose, an explanation is given on how we expect the variance to reduce to a tolerable level within an acceptable timescale. Wherever possible our suggested ward boundaries, following the Boundary Commission recommendation, are distinct, natural features following railway lines, rivers and main roads. If this is not possible because of the electoral equality objective, we have indicated community, religious or social links within ward boundaries. The Liberal Democrat team have, collectively, lived in different parts of Darlington Borough for many years. We have accumulated local knowledge of different areas and this has provided useful when following the Boundary Commission guidance that wards should reflect community interests and identities. Lib Dem Councillors know how important this is and our proposals reflect community links wherever possible.

4. Darlington Borough Council has placed a strong emphasis on economic growth. This is supported by the Lib Dem group which is particularly interested in improving the employment situation in the Borough. The Council proposes a restructure specifically designed to support the attraction of new businesses to the Borough, the growth and support to existing businesses, the creation of new jobs and the building of additional houses. We therefore anticipate that there will be further growth in the population across the Borough, that there will be house building in specific areas which will increase the population. The majority of the proposed areas for development have been captured within the proposed population variants set out within the LGBCE consultation documents. However there is a possibility that existing development proposals may be accelerated and new areas identified for development may come to fruition in a shorter timescale than has been the case previously, to reflect the drive for increased house building.

The Electorate

5. The projected electorate for 2019 for the Borough is 82,541 (including 21 overseas electors) Figures are necessarily based on a mix of the two sets ie total electorate of 82,541 and individual ward electorate figures based on the Council calculations. It is our submission that 11,098 of the electorate live in the rural wards and 71,443 in the urban wards. Each Councillor is required to represent approximately the same number of electors which based on the population above is 1651.

Rural Area

6. This submission divides the Borough up into rural area and urban areas. Whilst there are borders on the existing urban areas which could arguably be moved to accommodate future possible urban growth or the possibility of using the outer ring road as an urban boundary, Lib Dems did not feel the arguments were compelling enough and have chosen to continue with existing boundaries for simplicity.

7. It should also be noted that the Parliamentary Constituency for the rural wards are different and by altering these boundaries it can create confusion for electorate who are in the same ward as their neighbours but have a different parliamentary constituency. To avoid confusion the names of the Borough’s rural wards are hardly changed in our proposal, the exception being and Whessoe is now called Sadberge. The shape and boundaries of rural wards is also affected by the Parish boundaries and Parish Councils play a large part in the governance of the wards. For this reason rural ward boundaries are little changed in our proposals, whilst potential variance in electoral equalities has been addressed.

8. In general it is more difficult to find appropriate boundaries within the rural areas because of the more defined nature of the settlements and communities and therefore the variances are higher in the rural areas to reflect that. For the most part moving urban boundaries would exacerbate rather than ease the issue of rural variances.

9. Naming of wards: Names of rural wards have only one change in our submission but because several urban wards now have different boundaries, some have suggested new names. The suggested names have been chosen to describe the geographical area of the ward, often a main road in the ward. Others are chosen to reflect how local people would describe where they live, e.g. and Hope Town wards. Ward names will generate some interest at the public consultation stage of the review.

Heighington and Coniscliffe 10. The ward is the second largest ward geographically stretching from the west end of urban Darlington to the edge of the Borough west along the A67 incorporating the settlements of , , and . The ward also incorporates a stretch of the B6279 heading North West to Summerhouse. A further route heading North West out of the urban area takes in the Parish of and the Walworth area. The ward is divided by the main heading North West and reaches as far as Royal Oak along this road. These various roads like bicycle spokes out of the urban hub all cross the main A1M Motorway which crosses the ward South West to North East. The A68 splits forming the A6072 which leads to the main settlement of the ward in Heighington and also on to Redworth.

11. The total population of the ward is currently 2990 which is forecast to reduce to 2965 in 2019. It is a two member ward currently with a 1% over representation. However with the reduction in members and an average across the Borough of 1651 electors per member there would be 337 electors short of a two member ward at 3302 this increases to a 10.21% variance which is over the tolerance.

12. The ward difference is not sufficient to make a one member ward without creating a variance of around 80%. The ward is a rural ward which makes it difficult to combine with adjacent urban wards. Because of its size combining it with the adjacent one member rural ward of Sadberge and Whessoe would create a very large ward circling virtually all of the Borough. The options are therefore to retain the variance or seek to minimise the variance by increasing the size of the ward. The options for increasing the population are limited given that the ward boundary is also the Borough boundary to the North, West and South of the ward. Otherwise the ward is tight up against the urban boundary in the south east of the ward. Whilst it is possible to cross between a rural and urban boundary it would create a split between the natural communities of Mowden and in the West End of Darlington if these were moved into the rural ward. If anything a more natural boundary would be the main M which would reduce rather than increase the rural area. It would also create a difference in boundary with the Parliamentary boundary as Heighington and Coniscliffe are currently in the Parliamentary constituency.

13. The preferable area for additional electors is therefore in the North of the Ward where it abuts the Sadberge and Whessoe ward. Consideration of alternative natural boundaries and communities would allow for some transfer in this area. It is therefore suggested that the area to the west of the A1M up to the railway line and just beyond can as much be a part of Heighington and Coniscliffe as Sadberge and Whessoe as the parish is already split between the urban area of and the rural area. It is therefore proposed to move the XL polling district into the ward of Heighington. This produces a total population including projections of 3145 and produces a variance of -4.94%.

Sadberge 14. The current ward of Sadberge and Whessoe is a single member ward. The ward is the largest geographically stretching from the A67 west round the North East of the Borough to the A1M and near the settlement of Mundeville. The ward is currently underrepresented with a 10% variance with the existing number of members. This is predicted to change with the proposed reduction of members to 3.63% based on the population in 2019. However if the changes above to Heighington are made this will become over representation at -6.54%. This ward cannot be changed from a single member ward without combination with an adjacent ward. If it were combined with either of its neighbours it would make a geographically very large ward stretching round the Borough. The boundary of the current Sadberge and Whessoe ward borders almost directly on the settlement of making it difficult to take any more of the territory to the south of Sadberge and Whessoe without dividing the community of Middleton St George. It is therefore recommended that to accommodate the specific nature of the rural wards around Darlington and the settlements within the wards the variances should exceed the recommended 5% to this extent within the proposed Sadberge ward.

Middleton St George 15. Middleton St George is the smallest of the rural wards but contains the most significant settlement outside the urban spread of Darlington. It has seen growth in population and further building is likely as it continues to be the subject of planning applications from developers. The ward itself is focused around the settlement other than extending to the South East beyond the village, and to the South West into Dinsdale. The ward also contains the Durham Tees Valley airport. 16. The division of the settlement of Middleton St George itself would create an unnatural division in the community. The ward currently has under representation of 18% however with the change in the number of members this improves to 7%. As explained above changes to the border with Sadberge and Whessoe are difficult due to the proximity of the settlement of Middleton St George to that boundary, however the adjacent ward to the west of Hurworth has over representation and there is limited scope for transferring the area to the South West of the ward which would result in a transfer of 94 electors into the Hurworth ward. The proposals will transfer the area of the Middleton St George ward along the existing polling district boundary as far as Road and then along Neasham Road. This will result in a revised population of 3411 and a variance of +3.10%.

Hurworth 17. This ward contains the settlements of Hurworth, and Neasham. The ward stretches from Blackwell in the North West to the southern tip of in the South east. It is currently very slightly under represented with a 1% variance but with the reduction in members from 53 to 50 this changes to -6% over representation. The ward contains a small section to the north of the A66 which includes an extension from the area of Park East Ward. These residents are currently in the Hurworth ward and Sedgefield Parliamentary Constituency and are recommended to stay in Hurworth. If the proposed transfer from Middleton St George of 94 residents occurs this variance is reduced to -0.71%. This will bring the variance in to the recommended threshold.

The Rural Area Summary 18. The summary of the rural areas is therefore as follows: a) Heighington & Coniscliffe : 2965 + 205 (from polling district XL) = 3170 including projections this becomes 3145 with a variance of – 4.94%. b) Sadberge: 1711 – 205 (polling district XL to H & C Ward) = 1506 with projections this is 1546. Variance - 6.54%. c) Middleton St. George : 3539 – 94 (part of polling district WA to Huworth) = 3445 with projections this is 3411 with a Variance + 3.10% d) Hurworth : 2883 + 94 (part of polling district WA to Hurworth Ward) = 2977 with projections 3285 and a variance of -0.71%

The Rural Urban Split

19. The proposal above for the rural wards provides a slight over representation to provide a round number of Councillors for the rural area as follows. The population would require 6.726 councillors which when rounded up to 7 Councillors aligns with the proposals above for the rural area. The urban area therefore requires 43.3 which is rounded down to 43 Councillors which is a slight underrepresentation based on 2019 projected

The Urban Wards

20. The 43 Councillors representing the urban wards need to be distributed as far as possible with reference to the overall variances whilst reflecting communities and natural boundaries. Urban wards have been divided into wards consisting of between 1 and 3 councillors. Starting at the bottom of the urban map and working in anti-clockwise directions the wards are renamed.

21. a) Central and South Park (proposed) 4787 - 3 Members Variance -3.54% This ward is mainly made up of some of the former ward of Park East and incorporates parts of the former ward of Central. The has become the boundary to the east of the ward. This was felt to be a better boundary than the previous one. The next change is with increasing the ward to cross Victoria Road and include residents there who suffer the same traffic and noise problems as those on the opposite side of the road due to the cattle market. This area also includes the edge of the town centre and it was felt that most people living in the town centre would have the same characteristics to be included in a town centre community and because of this they could fit on to the edge of South Park Ward. There is a distinct crossover of communities on the edge of the town centre and the edge of Victoria Road. At the outer end of the ward we took the 228 electors inside the A66 boundary that is in Hurworth as they are more closely linked to the community in South Park and not Hurworth. b) Neasham Road (proposed) 5183 – 3 members Variance 4.44%

The terraced housing along Neasham Road is populated with a strong community that after a fatal accident recently in the area has really pulled together to support the family of the deceased it was felt making all these streets in to one ward was important to the identity of this community. The closest primary school is Rydal Academy which many children in the local area attend this local primary school. For this reason we extended the ward further to keep a large part of this community together. We extended the boundary to a sensible level to include some of the old Eastbourne ward due to the school link and to allow the ward to become a good three councillor ward. There was also a need to bring in the primary school St John’s as it has strong links to St John’s Church in the ward. c) Geneva Road (proposed) 5083 – 3 Members Variance 2.42%

This ward is mainly the most of the old Eastbourne ward but with some of the old Bank Top ward and Lascelles ward as communities were broken by the old boundary being down the centre of Geneva Road. This new ward has three distinct communities, those on estate, the streets on and around Geneva Road and the terraced housing coming of Road around Eastbourne Park. In the current format there are three wards along Geneva Road and we propose to reduce that to a more common-sense split into two wards. d) Red Hall & Lingfield (proposed) 3259 - 2 Members Variance -1.50%

Red Hall is a distinct community that is isolated from its former ward by the beck and fields. With the development at Lingfield point there may be closed links to Red Hall and Lingfield point so it was thought best to put these two communities together. As those children on Red Hall who do not attend the Red Hall Primary school tend to attend Heathfield School on the Broadway, it was felt that the old MOD estate at the top of Yarm Road and to the rear of Heathfield School could also have links with the children also attending Heathfield. There is also a strong link to care in the community with several houses in the area at the top of Yarm Road being linked to the same care in the community provider. These houses have strong links with each other and the community around them.

e) Albert Hill (proposed) 3475 - 2 Members Variance 5.03%

The community at the top of the ward is formed along the river at the top and strong links to the opposite side of the river. The proposed development at Central Park will pull together the community of Albert Hill and those along Hundens Lane. There is also development at the old Easbourne School site that could also form links to the Hundens Lane community. The big factor to putting these areas together is many of the secondary age children in this area will attend St Aidan’s Academy that is situates along Hundens Lane. f) Haughton-le-Skerne (proposed) 5054 - 3 Members Variance 1.84%

A former village on the edge of Darlington it has a strong identity and community that also links with the resident s of Welbeck Avenue. The River forms the lower boundary edge and is a natural form for the community edge. A large part of the top edge of the ward is along Stockton Road that becomes Whinfield Road. This very busy road seems to be a natural boundary to the communities on each side and so is the top boundary to the ward. Many children in this area will attend the Education Village for their education and so form a natural community.

g) Whinfield (proposed) 3318 – 2 Members Variance 0.29%

With the boundary at the lower edge being the busy roads of Stockton Road and Whinfield Road makes the formation of community above this a natural place to start. The outer boundary is the edge of the rural element of Darlington. Many children of primary age will attend Whinfield School located near the centre of the ward. There is a large supermarket and a doctors surgery in the ward linking people in the locality together h) Harrowgate Hill (proposed) 5081 – 3 Members – Variance 2.38%

Harrowgate Hill is at the top of the rural edge of Darlington and includes the rural element of Whessoe Parish. The Boundary will extend across the railway line to the west to include the first estate to above Whinfield Road. The small estate to the North of Salters Lane North is separated from the rest of Whinfield by a large playing field and so can fit in any of the wards. At the bottom of Longfield Road there is the Ridgeway estate and part of Longfield Road that is separated from the rest of Harrowgate Hill ward and has closer links to North Road Ward. So moves over to North Road Ward.

i) (proposed) 3010 – 2 Members Variance -16.33% In working towards acceptable variances it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. We felt that it was more important to keep communities together instead carving up communities to get better percentages. The biggest problem for us was the North West region of Faverdale, Branksome and where the housing trajectory is uncertain although developments have been approved when they are likely to start build is difficult to predict. The new housing figures are due to be published in January 2014 and it can be argued they will supersede the current predications of population by 2019. This is why we as a group we were loathed to accept current uncertain figures and instead decided not to calve up Branksome and Cockerton which would have further affected wards all the way to the town centre just to make the variances look better.

• Faverdale is to growing significantly and there is a need to address the future developments into a fair representation by their elected members, although under the variance the expected growth will soon change the minus variance to a plus. It is believed by the grant funding will be released earlier than expected and the developments in this area will grow far faster than the expected growth to 2019 (approximately a further 300 houses). For this reason we have deliberately left this ward with a very low variance to compensate for the growth. It is hoped if this proposal section is accepted it will not cause a further electoral review by 2020. Faverdale is also a distinct community and will not easily fit into any other combination.

j) North Road (proposed) 4752 – 3 Members – Variance -4.25%

North Road Ward is a unique ward in Darlington with three side of the ward having set boundaries to its communities. To the South and West of the Ward there is the Railway line running from Darlington to . To the South and East of the ward the boundary to the communities is the River Skerne and the Railway line from Darlington to the North of England and Scotland. It is proposed to extend the boundary to make the ward “a clearly identifiable boundary” of railway lines. (As quoted in final recommendation from the Boundary Commission 2001). There are several distinct communities in the ward and the distinct community that crosses from one side of the ward to the other is in the Social Housing sector. There are two large Council housing estates one in to the West of the Ward and one to the South of the ward in the North Riverside. North Riverside Community has recently forged links with the Rise Carr estate while helping them set up a residents association. The only way for reasonable movement in this ward is to retract or expand to the North of the ward. A small part of Thompson Street West with the small estate of Primary Close just built will bring together the small pockets of community in this area. The five electors from Thompson Street West could never understand why they were in a different ward to the rest of Thompson Street West. The ward will also extend out to include the Ridgeway estate and Longfield Road to the edge of Longfield Academy as the links in this community are closer to North Road Ward than the Harrowgate Hill Ward and bring into line the top boundary on the south side of Longfield Road at Crosby Street. k) Brinkburn (proposed) 3400 - 2 Members Variance 2.76%

With two big housing estates to the North of Brinkburn Road each representing its own individual community they fit in nicely within this ward. This ward was formarly part of Cockerton East and a small part of the former Pierremont ward. The terrace houses to the South of Brink burn Road have a natural boundary down Pierremont Road and we propose to put the roads to the east of Pierremont Road and above the Cockerbeck into Brinkburn. The East Boundary to this ward will be Road which is a natural split in the two communities on either side of West Auckland Road. l) Cockerton (proposed) 4815 - 2 Members Variance -2.98% Cockerton Ward will be created from taking Cockerton West a large section from Cockerton East to create a two Councillor ward. As Cockerton has a small shopping centre, working man’s club and a library it has a wide local community that will tend to use these facilities. There is a distinct boundary along West Auckland Road which will form the new western boundary for this ward. The southern edge of the ward remains the same as the old Cockerton West Ward. m) Mowden (proposed) 3179 – 2 Member -3.91%

Mowden Ward remains mostly unchanged apart from using the Cocker Beck to form the whole of the boundary to the north of the ward. Most of this ward has distinct communities and it was felt there was little room for movement here.

n) Hope Town (proposed) 3498 - 2 Members Variance 5.73%

Made up of most of the old Pierremont ward but with the loss of the section to the left of Pierremont Roadit has becomes a 2 councillor ward. The communities are still preserved in these changes. o) Northgate (proposed) 3216 - 2 Member Variance -2.80%

Made up of the entire old Northgate ward and including the part of Central ward to the east of High Northgate and South of Haughton Road. High Northgate has a community of flats along it and so there is communality amongst its residents. The route along John Street and East Mount Road are a through road for people in the old Northgate to the Eastern Corridor. For the small amount of houses taken from the old Central Ward there are closer links in community to the primary school in the old Northgate School.

p) Abbey Road (proposed) 3432 – 2 Members 3.73% Known as the former College ward there is three small changes the first being the name. Both sides of Stanhope Road North and South are now included in the ward as they are in a distinct community. And a few streets have been added with the bottom right hand corner being removed to exclude some of Cleveland Terrace and Scarth Street to move into Blackwell ward. There is the possibility of development in the long term in this ward at the former Arts Centre but it should not take the variance above 10% q) Hummersknott (proposed) 3333 – 2 Members 0.74% This ward remains mainly unchanged in its boundaries, except for including all the properties from Coniscliffe Road, Carmel Gardens and Pine Grove. These roads move from Blackwell into the Hummersknott ward. These changes are to bring in the community on Coniscliffe Road to its nearest neighbours. Carmel Gardens and Pine Grove are to make the numbers up.

r) Blackwell (proposed) 3451 - 2 Members Variance 4.31% Has had its boundaries changed by increasing to the River Skerne to the east and losing small areas to Abbey ward and Hummersknott ward. These changes have allowed the wards to become more balanced within the variances and have brought some communities together.

Parish Implications 22. The ward of Heighington and Consicliffe contains the parishes of Walworth, Heighington, Archdeacon Newton rural (this is split with the current ward of Faverdale), and Merrybent, High Coniscliffe, Piercebridge, Denton, Summerhouse and Killerby. None of these are changed by the proposals.

23. The ward of Sadberge and Whessoe contains the parishes of , , Morton Palms, Brafferton, Sadberge, East and West Newbiggin, , , and Whessoe rural (Whessoe rural will move to Heighington and Coniscliffe ward).

24. In the Middleton St George ward there are only two parishes that of Middleton St George itself and . The proposals will split the parish of Low Dinsdale along the existing polling district boundary as far as Neasham Road and then along Neasham Road. This may necessitate a Community Governance review. The existing parish includes two areas which form part of Middleton St George itself which contain the majority of the residents of the Low Dinsdale Parish. 25. The Hurworth ward contains the parishes of Hurworth/Hurworth Ward, Hurworth Place, Blackwell, Neasham, Sockburn. These parishes would remain unaffected by the proposals.

Hs5. North Amended Projections West Urban Residents with no Total (including No. of Revised Wards Wards 2012 (up to 2019) Fringe addresses projections) Councillors Variances Hummersknott 3358 -25 3333 2 0.76% Mowden 3094 85 3179 2 -3.90% Abbey Road 3420 12 3432 2 3.75% Hope Town 3485 -65 -21 99 3498 2 5.75% Cockerton 4690 164 -39 4815 3 -2.96% Brinkburn 3333 128 -40 -21 3400 2 2.78% Faverdale 2212 548 252 3012 2 -8.94% Harrowgate Hill 5038 110 -67 5081 3 2.40% North Road 4868 -116 4752 3 -4.23%

Whinfield 3401 -83 3318 2 0.31% Haughton Le Skerne 5079 -65 40 5054 3 1.86% Redhall & Lingfield 2755 182 322 3259 2 -1.48% Northgate 3018 25 184 -11 3216 2 -2.78% Geneva Road 5162 -28 -4 -29 -18 5083 3 2.44% Albert Hill 2634 825 3 13 3475 2 5.05% Neasham Road 5215 -3 7 -36 5183 3 4.46% Central and South Park 4868 25 -56 46 28 4911 3 -1.02% Blackwell 3369 -48 130 3451 2 4.33%

68999 71452 43 -100.00%

Hurworth 3135 8 3143 2 -4.98% Middleton St George 3445 -34 3411 2 3.12% Sadberge 1506 40 1546 1 -6.53% Heighington and Coniscliffe 3170 -25 3145 2 -4.92% 11256 1,660 459 61 10 11245 7 -100.00%

80255 70 82697 50 -100.00% 1653.94

APPENDIX 5: HOUSING TRAJECTORY 2011-2026 Year 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 2011- 2026

Making and Growing Places Planned Requirement: 230 170 250 370 370 400 420 450 475 450 450 450 450 450 450 5835 Strategic sites (allocations and commitments) 0 0 122 134 141 181 223 264 276 242 312 300 330 340 350 3215

Hs1. Lingfield Point (c-ns) 28 28 35 35 40 45 80 80 80 80 80 80 80 771 Hs2. Central Park (c-ns) 47 61 61 61 98 94 56 22 500 Hs3. West Park (c-u) 47 45 45 45 45 45 50 50 22 394 Hs4. Town Centre Fringe (notional) 40 40 40 40 40 70 80 90 100 110 650 Hs5. North West Urban Fringe 40 50 50 90 90 110 110 110 650 Hs6: Eastern Urban Fringe 50 50 50 50 50 250 Completions (est. to yr end for 12/13) 230 170 400

Commitments Started 0 0 72 32 16 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 135 Snipe House Farm 10 10 Darlington Tech College 16 15 31 Alderman Leach School 32 17 16 65 Clarks Yard 15 15 Firth Moor Hotel 8 8 Haughton Road/Dundee Street 0 0 Brook Terrace 6 6 Commitments Not Started 0 0 60 197 113 112 0 32 70 121 83 50 74 44 0 956

Hc3: Yiewsley Drive* 20 20 20 7 67 Hc2: Former DFC Ground 32 32 20 84 Hc8: Harrowgate Hill Infants School 8 8 16 North Farm 14 14 West Newbiggin Farm 9 9 Forge Tavern 4 4 8 Hc16: 36-40 Clifton Road 6 6 Croft House 5 14 19 Hc4: Hopetown Park 20 32 9 61 Hc10: 1 Blackwell Lane 9 9 Hc14: Lowson Street 7 7 DFAM Neasham Road windfall 32 40 45 33 150 Hc1: Former Corus Site, Whessoe Road 30 50 50 50 50 20 250 Year 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 2011- 2026

Hc5: Rear of Heron Drive 24 24 48 Hc6: Ruck/Cockerton Club 20 20 Hc15: Rise Carr Club 6 6 Small Sites (started and not started) (incl DL N. Home and Manor Farm) 21 85 8 60 174 Hc13: Minors Crescent (pending) 8

Small windfall allowance 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 450

Allocations 0 0 6 106 138 152 144 105 84 56 18 48 0 0 18 875

Ha18: Former Eastbourne Nursery (M02) 14 14 Ha3: Memorial Hospital (south) (M03) 28 32 60 Ha8: Woodburn Nursery (M01) 11 25 36 Ha1: Former Eastbourne School combined (M86) 6 54 16 36 112 Ha19: Alverton Drive (M31) 12 12 Ha17: Emley Moor/Buxton Moor (M36) 19 5 24 Ha22: Edgemoor Road (M35) 7 3 10 Ha15: Hammond Drive (M83) 22 22 Ha10: Hartington Way/Bellburn Lane (M81) 16 16 32 Ha7: Former Alderman Leach School Field (M63) 15 23 38 Ha16: East of A167, Harrowgate Hill (M09) 20 20 Ha12/Ha14 Glebe Road South and Glebe Road North (M64) 45 5 50 Ha5: South of Burtree Lane, Harrowgate Hill (M07) 32 18 50 Ha2: North of White Horse (M08) 32 48 80 Ha4: Former Springfield School area (M84) 15 5 38 58 Ha9: Mowden Hall (M85) 5 30 35 Ha21: View (M38) 8 8 Ha20: Rear of Scargill Shops (M16) 12 12 Ha6: South of Court/Haughton Road (M23) 40 40 Ha11: Darlington Timber Supplies (M28) 18 18 Ha13: Land at Carmel School 24 24 Allowance within MGP18: NEW Red Hall Riding Stables and environs 32 40 33 15 120 Total Delivery 230 170 260 469 408 460 417 451 480 469 463 448 454 434 418 6031

Shortfall/Surplus against Planned Requirement 0 0 10 99 38 60 -3 1 5 19 13 -2 4 -16 -32 196

fact sheet 4 Darlington Making and Growing Places DPD: Preferred Options 2013 NORTH WEST URBAN FRINGE

WHAT IS THE NORTH WEST URBAN FRINGE?

The North West Urban Fringe is 85ha of greenfield land on the north west edge of Darlington, situated between the A68, the A1 (M), the existing neighbourhood of West Park and the former Railway trackbed. It is currently in agricultural use, forming part of Mount Pleasant and Stag House Farms, either side of Newton Lane.

WHY IS THIS AREA IMPORTANT?

It has been identified as a strategic development area in the Darlington Core Strategy and is expected to make a significant contribution to the overall housing supply from 2016, as well as for employment, community and open space uses. It is a suitable option for this development because:  it is close to existing services and relates well to the existing urban area;  its size means that there are opportunities to build necessary green infrastructure into the design and layout while still delivering the required number of houses; and  it allows well located land permitted for a rugby club to be considered for development. WHAT MAKING AND GROWING PLACES SETS OUT TO DO It provides more details about the different proposed uses in this new neighbourhood. Once agreed, these will form the basis for masterplanning the overall development of the area.

Creating New Housing The draft policy envisages about 650 new homes in this area by 2026, with the expectation that development will continue on this site well beyond 2026. It is proposed that:  about 150 new homes be provided from 2016 – 2021 and about a further 450 by 2026, starting next to the southern end of Edward Pease Way, and progressing from there westwards onto Stag House Farm and northwards;  new housing will be well connected through a design and layout that includes walking and cycling routes to/from Cockerton village and to/from schools, shops and services nearby;  there should be a range of housing types, sizes and tenures. Land closest to community facilities, shops and services would be suitable for housing for older people and for those with disabilities (about 5% of homes) and 30% of homes should be affordable housing, including both social rented and intermediate (part buy/part rent) tenures; and  zero carbon housing should be built, to be achieved with a combination of highly energy efficient design and use of renewable or low carbon technologies.

Making Sure There Are Enough Local Shops and Services An expanded West Park local centre would meet most of people’s day to day local needs. However, the southern area of the North West Urban Fringe is quite a distance away, and in parts, would be closer to other shops at Whitby Way and Nickstream Lane. Therefore, other proposals include:  more shop(s) to meet local needs, ideally in conjunction with community facilities, in the Newton Lane/southern end of Edward Pease Way;  new community facilities, such as a GP surgery and school(s), where footpaths and cycle routes meet, linking it to existing and new housing areas and other community facilities.

Office Development Land at the northern end of the North West Urban Fringe would be suitable for high quality office accommodation in a distinctive environment that complements existing and planned provision elsewhere in the Borough.

North West Urban Fringe Fact Sheet | 1 fact sheet 4 Darlington Making and Growing Places DPD: Preferred Options 2013 NORTH WEST URBAN FRINGE

Managing Traffic and Providing Travel Choice It is proposed that the new development should have:  a new road network across the site with a new link between Edward Pease Way and Newton Lane, to help disperse traffic across the network;  bus stops within 300m of every home;  high frequency bus services through the development that link the area to Cockerton and the town centre;  attractive and convenient walking and cycling routes that link to existing sustainable transport routes, and to local schools, shops and services; and  associated off site improvements, such as traffic lights on Woodland Road/West Auckland Road roundabouts and a new roundabout on Newton Lane.

Providing Greenspace for Sport, Recreation and Wildlife Existing natural features and the nearby countryside will be reflected in the design and layout of greenspaces, and will make positive use of land that has to be used for utilities infrastructure. The following are proposed:  significant mixed woodland landscaping and species rich planting at the boundaries;  green corridors to give walkers and cyclists access to existing neighbourhoods, spaces for outdoor recreation and play, allotments and community orchard planting;  wetland habitat creation, including the balancing ponds needed as part of the sustainable drainage scheme for the Stag House Farm area, in the southwestern area of the site;  A new 8ha playing pitch hub to meet both local and town wide needs.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE?

The North West Urban Fringe is covered in Making and Growing Places, Section 3.4 and Draft Policy MGP5. Expansion of the West Park Local Centre is covered in Section 5 and Draft Policy MGP15, and new playing field provision in draft Policy MGP26.

Contact Us: You can access more information about the Making and Growing Places document at: www.darlington.gov.uk/mgp and about planning policy in general at www.darlington.gov.uk/planningpolicy Alternatively, contact the Planning Policy Team on 01325 388644 or email [email protected] This document is available in different formats on request.

North West Urban Fringe Fact Sheet | 2

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