Fresh plans for 215 homes in Yarm after previous scheme rejected

Mandale Homes has submitted a revised planning application to Stockton Council for 215 homes on fields at Mount Leven Farm, Leven Bank Road, Yarm. The two to four-bedroom houses will be split across four “villages”.

It will include 35 semi-detached and detached bungalows on the 12.6-hectare site about half an hour’s walk away from Yarm town centre. The plans went into the council for consideration earlier this month.

A previous plan for 215 homes on the same site was refused by councillors on Stockton Council’s planning committee, against officers’ recommendations, in December last year. The scheme sparked a debate over control of planning decisions.

That earlier application drew more than 100 objections, including one from Yarm Town Council, and 23 letters of support. Criticisms were raised over footpaths, cycle links, facilities, a roundabout and environmental concerns.

Council planning officers recommended approving the proposed development, but a majority of councillors on the planning committee rejected it. They believed it did not meet the needs of the ageing population, the roundabout was unsafe and unsuitable and the proposal would harm green space and the area’s character and appearance.

The authority’s head of legal services believed none of the grounds for refusing the plan were justifiable. Officers said the reasons could not be sustained or justified and could risk a costly appeal at a public inquiry.

At December’s meeting, councillors voted five to four to refuse the plan without hearing further advice from officers. Councillor Steve Walmsley said: “The original democratic decision for refusing Mandale’s application to develop housing on Mount Leven was entirely valid.”

Plans for 215 homes at Mount Leven Farm, Leven Bank Road, Yarm

He cited “long-held views about inconsistency, repetitive departures and relentless environmental decimation of all that we pledged to preserve and protect”.

Proposing that members be asked to reaffirm or deny their original vote, he said: “To do otherwise is just a slap in the face for democracy and these people who have objected.

“The vote was taken legitimately without prejudice last time. We’ve got officers wagging the dog.

“We get this all the time. Members are being browbeaten.

“It’s not for officers to decide. It’s for us to decide.”

Cllr Eileen Johnson, disagreed saying: “I have not been browbeaten into anything. We are elected to take decisions based on sound advice from our professional officers. That’s what we pay them for.”

In a statement with the new application, agent ELG Planning says the developer aims to deliver attractive, accessible and spacious homes with landscaping, a network of footpaths, public transport connections, grass areas, woodland and parking, with “no unacceptable loss of privacy or any overbearing impacts”.

Some objectors said a roundabout was inadequate and an “accident waiting to happen” and the development would increase the likelihood of accidents and put the lives of future residents at risk. A statement from Dynamic Transport Planning refers to highways and transport matters, including the previous plan’s refusal because the Mount Leven roundabout was unsafe and unsuitable.

It says the development complies with council policy, adding: “The site access is fit for purpose to serve the development and the off-site traffic impact is negligible. This view is shared by the SBC highway who agreed that the traffic impact is negligible and that they had no objections to the proposals.”

It says there had been one minor accident due to driver error at the junction since its construction: “SBC Highways believe that driver behaviour will be improved with the development in place… There are no reasons why the proposed development should not be granted planning permission on highways ground.”