Northumberland Estates' amended housing plans for seaside village meet with opposition

In 2017, the Duke of Northumberland’s development company received outline planning permission for 45 homes on a greenfield site south of Kennedy Green in Beadnell.

However, Northumberland Estates now wants to vary the conditions of that consent so it can amend the layout.

In a letter outlining the move, Guy Munden, development planner with Northumberland Estates, said: “The application granted approval for access, landscaping, layout and scale, with the only reserved matter to be considered being appearance.

‘Northumberland Estates are progressing this application and have spent time reviewing the outline planning permission and preparing the reserved matters application for appearance.

‘Alongside design of the specific house-types, detailed investigation works have been undertaken across the site, including targeted ground and drainage investigations.

‘The result of this is that in order to deliver the development, we have been required to amend the layout of the site slightly in regard to the arrangement of the estate road in the south of the site.

‘The overall scale of development, 45 dwellings, and the housing mix is unchanged from the outline application.’

Six letters of objection have been submitted to Northumberland County Council which highlight concerns at the proposal to change the route of the road and, in particular, the visual impact this would have.

Others fear it could pave the way for further development.

Andy Brown of protest group Beadnell Under Threat has called on local residents to make their voices heard with multiple objections.

“Northumberland Estates must not be allowed to realign the access road to pave the way to even more development,” he said.

“If successful, Northumberland Estates will have overturned the democratic decision of the planning committee to grant planning permission with attached, enforceable conditions.”

Harbour Road resident Lucinda Fleming-Jones, in her letter of objection, writes: ‘The request by the applicant to override this agreed, amended version of the access road route is nothing short of a ploy to reinstate the original aim of opening up the field to future development.’

In his letter of objection, Alexander Baker, also of Harbour Road, adds: ‘The change substantially alters the nature of the application and moves it back towards a scheme that has previously been abandoned as unsuitable and unnecessary.’

A range of dwellings are envisaged, including nine affordable homes and 36 units for private sale, with vehicular access provided off Swinhoe Road.