Design changes to car park at Seaton Delaval railway station on the Northumberland Line recommended for approval

Early work on the station, part of the Northumberland Line project to restore passenger services between Ashington and Newcastle, revealed the ground had contamination issues, a poor load-bearing capacity, and a high water table.

As a result, permission to construct the car park in two phases and reduce its overall footprint has been sought.

While some of the size reduction will come from removing landscaping between the spaces, the total planned spaces at the site will reduce slightly from 284 to 268. Modelling for parking demand at the site expected an average demand for 274 spaces by 2039.

The application described the new proposal as “the most obvious way of mitigating against the below-ground issues, whilst also ensuring that the station can still be delivered to an affordable budget.”

Landscaping changes such as tree planting on the site boundary and wildflower planting on the unused land prior to the car park’s second phase, as well as a revised drainage system are also included in the planning application.

Northumberland County Council officers are recommending that councillors approve these proposed variations to the station’s original planning application at a meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee on Tuesday, June 6.

Councillors have the final say on the application in instances, such as this, where the local authority itself is the applicant.

The report that accompanies the recommendation said: “The proposed variations to conditions to allow the car parking provision to be phased are considered to be acceptable in principle.

“County Highways consider that the number of car parking spaces proposed is supported by the modelling and will ensure that cars are not required to be parked in residential areas in the vicinity of the proposed station.

“Local residents welcomed the original submission for the phasing of the car park but they asked the applicants to consider making a number of detailed changes, including to the landscaping proposals. The applicants subsequently amended the proposals to address the concerns identified by residents.

“Further information on drainage was also submitted to address issues raised by the Local Lead Flood Authority.”