Scores of objections have already been submitted by residents after plans for the controversial Skerningham Garden Village scheme were lodged with Darlington Borough Council.

The proposals include 450 houses, a shop and a pub, along with parking and landscaping.

But concerned residents living nearby have voiced concerns over the size of the development, and the effect it would have on infrastructure, schools, drainage and the sewage network. One woman, whose mother’s ashes are scattered nearby, said it would be “a tragedy to lose such a peaceful area so plentiful in wildlife”.

According to a design and access statement prepared by Pod Newcastle, the 487-hectare Skerningham Garden Village site will deliver 450 new dwellings including provision for 90 (20 per cent) affordable homes. The document says the plans also include:

  • A new local convenience store and public house;
  • Public open space, with potential for allotments/community orchards;
  • Improvements to Barmpton Lane and its junction with Whinbush Way;
  • A pedestrian/cycle connection to Barmpton Lane;
  • A proportionate contribution towards A66 Little Burdon Roundabout.

But current Barmpton Road resident Rosie Yates said: “By proposing 450 houses, if we assume that each house has two children which will equal 900 children – where are the schools and nurseries for them?

“Where are the doctors, dentists and hospital for them?

“Where is the infrastructure? We are already plagued by speeding lorries, cars and motorbikes.

“There has already been documentation telling the authority that the sewage table cannot take it, and yet they are still adamant on building here.”

Steven Parker, of Darlington, added: “I’m a resident on Barmpton Lane, the lane is a already a death trap on some days where you just have to pull out and hope for the best.

"The small blind corners and cars parked along the side of the road, with the speed limit exceed by over 50 per cent of the drivers, to then increase the traffic with a minimum of an additional 450 cars daily, this could lead to some serious road accidents.”

Susan Barker, of Darlington, said: “I have walked there over many years on my own and with my late mother.

“She liked it so much there that we scattered her ashes at the green burial site where her friend Dave Green, the naturalist, is buried.

“It would be a tragedy to lose such a peaceful area so plentiful in wildlife.”

Tom Watson, from Darlington, said Skerningham “is a place of natural beauty and an area I have enjoyed since I was a child”. “Green areas such as this should never be developed and left for the preservation of all people to enjoy,” he added.

Other concerns relate to the loss of fields which retain water during periods of heavy rain, while Mark Gardner, from Darlington, said brownfield sites in the town centre should be repurposed for housing instead.