Urban extension mooted for north-east New Town

Planning and design consultancy Barton Willmore has submitted an outline planning application to Northumberland County Council for a major residential-led development of 1,600 new homes near Newcastle on behalf of a consortium of developers.

Persimmon Homes and Bellway Homes want to build the sustainable urban extension on an 86-hectare site to the south-west of Cramlington New Town. The scheme, which will be known as Arcot Woods, also includes a local centre with shops, a pub, a school, a pub as well as a care home, sheltered housing for older people, a community centre and a health centre.

Also proposed is nearly 30 hectares of public open space. Some 10 per cent of the housing will be affordable.

The application represents the two first phases of the so-called ‘South West Sector Master plan’. The site was first allocated for housing development 1999 and this was carried forward to the Blyth Valley Core Strategy in 2007. In 2008 the council identified the sector as part of the ‘Growth Point Programme of Development’ for south-east Northumberland.

Arcot Woods is designed to be the final quadrant of Cramlington New Town, which was first established in the 1960s. The plans will help to complete the original vision of Cramlington and support its development as one of the most sustainable and accessible towns in Northumberland.

View further details of the scheme

Roger Milne