A DEVELOPER has made a second attempt to secure planning consent to build hundreds of new homes on the edge of Spennymoor.

Durham County Council refused Gladman Developments permission for up to 300 houses on land off Durham Road, in Middlestone Moor, on December 2.

The council decided that, being on the edge of the existing built up area, it would be an unjustified development in the countryside which would harm other housing schemes on preferable brownfield sites nearby.

But the Cheshire-based company has resubmitted the outline application, urging the council to make a u-turn.

It still wants to build up to 300 properties of varying sizes, including affordable and life-time homes, along with public open space, children’s play facilities and landscaping.

Gladman accepts the development is outside the local plan but argues the scheme would help meet housing and employment needs.

It says the site is sustainable, more than 100 people would be employed during construction and training opportunities created and that residents would pump around £1.5m into Spennymoor a year to support local businesses and services.

But when refusing the earlier application, the council said there was already sufficient land allocated for housing within Spennymoor to support growth and boost housing supply for present and future generations.

Gladman also believes road improvements, new recreational provision and a contribution of £20,000 towards public footpaths and gates would be of local benefit.

The firm said very few of the 650 households and interested parties it consulted had responded.

The council did receive some public objections which included there being no market for more new housing, that the houses would be too far out for most people to walk to local facilities, Middlestone Moor’s identity is being eroded, road safety and the loss of farmland.

The council’s education department estimated that 300 houses could produce 90 children whose families would expect them to attend Middlestone Moor Primary School.

That school would be 70 places short so require an additional three classrooms, with the developer expected to pay around £640,000 towards the cost.

A suggestion by Gladman that children could go to schools in the villages of Byers Green or Coundon was branded as ‘wholly unreasonable’ by the council.

Consultation on the resubmitted plan closes on January 8, 2015, with Durham County Council expected to make a decision by March 14, 2015.