Councillors delay planning decision on 500-home Killingworth Moor development

Councillors gathered at North Tyneside Council’s Cobalt HQ on Tuesday to consider a joint application between property developers Bellway and Banks Group for 539 houses on the southern part of Killingworth Moor. The plans have proved contentious, amassing around 167 objections on the council’s website.

However, representation made by the Killingworth Village Residents’ Association questioned the late submission of 31 additional plans on October 12, including environmental assessments.

In addition, council officers claimed the late arrival of the project’s financial viability assessment meant councillors would need to delay the decision to absorb the information.

The recently uploaded financial viability assessment, undertaken by Capita, states that the project will only deliver 15% affordable housing. This is opposed to the usual 25% required in housing developments over 11 properties.

According to a statement on behalf of the planning department: “The council has received a late communication from a third party raising a number of issues about the proposal on which it is considered additional information needs to be presented to the committee.

"It has not been possible to provide this information in time for the meeting today.

“These parties have expressed procedural concerns that the recent uploading of documents means they have not had sufficient time to review the documents and make any further representations.”

This application forms one part of the Killingworth Masterplan, envisaged by North Tyneside Council in 2017.

In total, around 2,000 homes are proposed to be built on the moor by Bellway, Banks Property, and Northumberland Estates in a series of stages.

The whole project will also entail several major updates to the surrounding road networks and infrastructure. These include improvements to the Killingworth roundabout, junction improvements on Killingworth Road, and new cycling and pedestrian routes.

A new date for the decision on the Bellway and Banks development has not yet been announced.