CONCERN has been voiced at the lack of sites for new houses across Barnard Castle contained in a blueprint for the development of County Durham.
Members of the town council were told no new areas of the town had been earmarked for housing as part of the current draft version of the County Durham Plan.
The document sets out development plans for the county in the period up to 2035. A special meeting of the town council was called to discuss its implications – but only six of the 12 members turned up.
Apologies were received and accepted from Richard Child, Rima Chatterjee, Ian Kirkbride and Belinda Thompson. There was no word from George Hallimond and members were told Cllr Tim Raw had resigned from the group.
Those present questioned why the William Smith Grove works depot and Barnard Castle Auction Mart site, which had both been earmarked in earlier versions of the plan, had been removed.
Members also queried why the former police station at Bede Kirk was also missing from those areas suitable for redevelopment.
It was pointed out that the base map used by Durham County Council for reference in the plan was out of date – still showing the police station at Bede Kirk and not as part of the Wilson Street emergency services quad hub.
The map also showed the paddling pool at Scar Top, which was removed more than five years ago, and no development on Darlington Road, where 100 houses now stand.
Cllr Judi Sutherland asked: “Do we care about those places not being mentioned? What happens if someone comes up with a plan for 50 houses?”
Town clerk Michael King suggested it would simply have to stand or fall on its own merits.
On the William Smith site, she added: “When are the current occupants moving out? If we don’t know that, what can we say about what’s going to happen next? I am told there is an earmarked parking allocation. We want to make sure we don’t lose that.”
Mayor Cllr Sandra Moorhouse said removing the housing tag from areas previously earmarked for development could affect the land value.
“It is quite important to our businesses to at least have some knowledge of the value. It would be extremely difficult to raise that amount of money to move somewhere else if they can’t get the market value for housing land.”
Cllr Sutherland added: “There is not enough provision for older people moving into Barnard Castle. Having a site in the centre of town is really important.”
Other points raised during the discussion on the County Durham plan included the future of Deerbolt Young Offenders’ Institution in neighbouring Startforth and how “section 106” money levied by the county council from construction firms building new estates was spent.
Cllr John Blissett said: “How long is Deerbolt going to be there? I would say less than ten years with the way the penal system is going.
“Can you see the Ministry of Justice sitting on a piece of land like that?”
Mr King is to draft a response to the draft County Durham Plan on behalf of the council which will be circulated among members for agreement before being submitted before the deadline for comments on Friday, March 8.
For more details on the plan go to www.durham.gov.uk/future.
