Following a meeting on Thursday 19th April in Harrowgate Hill Club to discuss the councils proposals for a Gypsy & Traveller site at the end of Glebe Road, we have from all the comments discussed at the meeting produced a letter to the council pointing out the unsuitability of the site.
To confirm validity the council require the letter to be signed with name and address. There are copies in Harrowgate Hill Club, Premier Shop on North Road, Marcel Hair Studio and Carries Salon which can be signed. I am presenting the letter to the planning department at the Town Hall on Monday.
Alternatively, you can print a copy of the letter below and mail to steve.petch@darlington.gov.uk
Gypsy & Traveller Proposals for Salter’s Lane West (GT041) in Harrowgate Hill Ward
On Thursday 20th April Councillor Gill Cartwright held a public meeting to discuss the proposals for the site known as GT041 Salter’s Lane West situated at the end of Glebe Road in Harrowgate Hill Ward.
The community opposes the Councils plans for a Gypsy & Traveller site at Salter’s Lane West on the following grounds –
1  The proposals are contrary to the Borough Council’s Policy CS 13 Accommodating Travelling Groups.  Specifically:
a) Have appropriate access and are in a sustainable location for schools, shops, employment opportunities and other local facilities and services;
b) Are located and designed so as not to have an unacceptable negative impact on existing residential amenity or existing landscape character;
c) Are appropriate to provide a safe and healthy environment for residents;
d) Are located in areas not at risk from flooding.
2. Â Â CS 13 Accommodating Travelling Groups
(a).  There is a shortage of school places in the area where the proposed site will be located. Harrowgate Hill Primary School and Whinfield Primary School are heavily over-subscribed and will be so for a number of years.  Longfield Academy the nearest secondary school is also heavily over-subscribed.  There are no schools within walking distance of the site which can accommodate children from the proposed site.  Therefore this will result in children being bussed outside the area to school. The nearest doctor’s surgeries are at Whinbush Way which is 1.5 miles away from the proposed site and Denmark Street which is 1.1 miles from the site.
3. Â CS 13 Accommodating Travelling Groups
(b). Â The proposed site in a predominantly rural area will have an unacceptable negative impact on the rural landscape of the area and will be visually intrusive especially properties in Harrowgate Village on the A167.
4. Â CS 13 Accommodating Travelling Groups
(c). The land will not provide a safe and healthy environment for residents especially children because electricity pylons cross the land and the site is bounded to the east by the East Coast Main Railway line and there will be noise from the railway. There are areas where the fence protecting the railway line is insecure and could be accessed by children and horses.
5. Â Â CS 13 Accommodating Travelling Groups
(d). Â The land is at risk from flooding and is boggy and is unsuitable for pitches for gypsies and travellers on this basis.
6. Â Â The site is a green field site and we believe that the site should remain as a rural green field and continue to be used for allotments only. This site has been previously ear marked for allotment use and the allotment holders would like to see this land utilised for their use. There are over 500 people on the waiting list in Darlington waiting for an allotment allocation.
7. There is no indication in the proposals about how effluent from the site will be dealt with.
8. Ecology – There is extensive wildlife living on the proposed site. Deer, Hares, rabbits, ducks, geese, frogs, newts, Heron, coots and Mallards. We intend to liaise with DEFRA & Natural England to seek their views about the site.
9. The Council report states that the nearest residential properties are Birch Road and Maple Road. This is incorrect, the nearest properties are on the new estate built on the old Beaumont Hill Site.
10. Access to the proposed site is through a built up residential area and generated traffic movements from the site would cause significant disruption to Glebe Road and other roads in the area.
11. The access to public transport is 1km which is outside Darlington Borough Councils own policy which states that the distance should be ideally 200m and a maximum of 800m.
12. There are no children’s play facilities in the local area.
13. The site has been used as a common right of way through presumed dedication. We have evidence from many local people that they have been using this route for many years. Beaumont Hill School used this route to allow the children to enjoy the countryside.
14. We urge Darlington Borough Council to discuss with the other Tees Valley Councils the provision of more gypsies and travellers sites in their areas and the provision should not fall on Darlington to have largest number of pitches. We note that Hartlepool does not have any pitches at present but would have 9 sites, Stockton would have 65 sites, Redcar and Cleveland would have 20 sites and Middlesbrough 20 sites by the end of 2012 whereas Darlington is expected to have 82 sites by the end of 2012
In Conclusion
We believe that the current sites at Honeypot Lane & Neasham Road should be extended to provide the extra pitches needed. This makes common sense as the infrastructure is already in place and would be less of a burden to the Darlington Taxpayer. These two sites are well established Gypsy & Traveller sites and widely accepted within the communities in which they reside.
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