I AGREE with your editorial about the attitude of Darlington Borough Council over the applications for major housing developments (Echo, Apr 10).

I presented two cases to the last Planning Applications Committee about why two major planning applications should not be approved in Whessoe parish. My submissions were based on expert guidance, sound planning policies and the views of the residents.

I felt that I was not being listened to by the committee and the points which the parish council made were ignored in favour of the new housing targets of the borough council, which have not even been consulted on nor approved by the Secretary of State.

In Darlington, planning applications for major housing developments are being speeded through committee based on an extremely high housing need figure of 492 houses per year which presupposes that there will be major international companies coming to Darlington, employing thousands and paying well. I just hope they are right.

There are not proper assessments of the impact of the effects of major housing developments on existing communities: the destruction of the green areas and accessible open countryside which they cherish, the disruption to their lives through noise, dirt and road safety problems during the building phase (which can go on for years), and increasing pressure on an already creaking infrastructure (roads, school places and medical services).

I welcome dialogue but Darlington Borough Council must be prepared to listen and act on what is being said.

It must put in the infrastructure which will cope with an increasing population and halt the shocking destruction of green areas, village communities and open countryside by the developers.

Alan Macnab, Darlington

WE have been seeing some pretty disturbing headlines and images in the press over Darlington council’s apparent insensitive stance over planning issues.

Conservationists and residents are making their feelings known. We’ve seen the villagers of Hurworth surrounded by banners of protest, and the controversial Berrymead Farm opposed by Whessoe Parish Council. Then came proposals for a Burtree Lane development, plus new homes and a convenience store with car park for at Middleton-St-George, and I watched your former editor Peter Barron’s YouTube clip “Environmental Vandalism” about the tree loss in Blackwell. 

Then came I saw the article in which Cllr Chris McEwan called for “more proactive discussions” with residents and campaign groups following the Blackwell tree row (Echo, Apr 6).

Could this be a light in the darkness? 

It is a positive move away from the usual we “consulted with residents” line. It is a recognition that a town is not divided in areas, and its natural treasures, the historic parkland, the meadow farmland, those simple green belt habitats, are whole-town assets with whole-town concern. 

One loss is a loss to all. 

Cllr McEwan’s notion of bringing “campaign groups” – conservationists, ecologists, historians – into the arena with those “more proactive discussions” is a welcome move towards the Government’s requirements for local councils. 

Brandon Lewis, the Communities and Local Government minister, said in March 2016: “I am very conscious of the impact planning decisions can have on local communities and on our environment. The community should be proactively engaged in local plans so they represent a collective vision and a set of agreed priorities.” 

Michael Green, Darlington